A Mortal Cinderella Story: All for You
by peachyrosecooper
Summary: Clary Fray is a senior in high school, when Jace Herondale, the Prince of Idris in Europe transfers. They have an immediate connection, but there's many things that stand in their way: Jace's duties as Prince soon to be king, Clary's college dreams, and mostly Jace's habits as a heartbreaker. If they ever are to get together, Jace will need to change, and Clary doesn't think he can
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! So this is my first fanfic, and I already have mostly the entire main plot all planned out. It's probably a boring introduction chapter, but I have a lot of drama planned for this story so it won't be boring! Also I've read a lot of mortal instruments fanfiction and it's by far my favorite series ever! I'll be working on this story a lot, and I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Please follow and leave a review, I'm really looking forward to reading suggestions!**

 **Disclaimer: All the characters in this fanfiction belong to Cassandra Clare the super talented author of The Mortal Instruments; none of the characters except some background characters are mine.**

A Cinderella Story: All for You

"Clary, did you hear about the fight in the lunch room today? They suspended Jack Erniway!", said a nerdy-looking boy. The girl next to him rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Yes Simon, I heard about it. It was all everyone talked about in pre calc today. It's literally the only interesting that has happened since last year, when Mr. Carstairs let his cat loose on a student", laughed Clarissa Fray. She went by Clary with her friends, even though she didn't have many of those. Clary Fray was very quiet. She kept to herself and tried not to draw much attention. Her fiery red hair and tiny size didn't help with being invisible, but she still tried to disappear sometimes. "Speaking of, have you heard back from Duke or UNC? It's about time they sent you your acceptance letter!", she said excitedly to her best friend.

The boy nervously chewed his lip. "Uh, no I haven't heard anything yet. I'm sure it's either lost in the mail or on its way," he said with a smile. Simon Lewis was her best friend for as long as she could remember. They were inseparable, and she really relied on him. He was loyal as a lap dog and they often spent weekends at the bookstore reading manga or in record stores building their collection of vinyl.

"Definitely. I can't wait for you to get in. You're the smartest person I know, Lewis!". This was true; Simon was exceptionally smart, and often had to help Clary with her grades.

She wasn't a logical thinker. She was all creative. She had a natural talent for drawing and painting, which was most likely handed down form her mother Jocelyn, who painted for a living. That job was how they paid rent for their small apartment outside of Brooklyn. They didn't have much; Clary certainly didn't fit in with the rich kids who drove Mercedes and carried around Louis Vuitton bags. But Clary didn't really care. Her mom and her had been through a lot together, that she was just grateful for what she had. She was down to earth to say the least.

However, being down-to earth wasn't a quality that most kids in high school cared about. She was never included in parties. In fact, she had only been to one in her junior year, which was a birthday party for someone in her art class. She discovered that spending her Friday nights with people who got blackout drunk, and couldn't keep their clothes on was not what she wanted to do. Lucky for her, her loyal best friend Simon never cancelled on her, so she never went to the bookstore or record store alone.

"Thanks, Fray. Alright, I got to get to lab, I have an important presentation due at the end of this week."

"Simon, it's Monday. You have plenty of time. You know, you really should try out procrastination. I didn't choose the procrastination life, it chose me." Simon laughed.

"Fray, you're a real bad influence." Clary rolled her eyes and dramatically said,

"So terrible." They both laughed and parted ways in the hall way.

On the way to her next class, Clary went to the bathroom. As she was in the stall, she heard some girls outside by the sinks talking. She recognized them because they were both seniors like her, however she wasn't really friendly with them and she doubted they knew her name.

"No way. This is Meadington Academy. We've been here three years and nothing ever happens. There was already that fight today, I don't believe this is happening, too." said one girl. Clary wondered what she was talking about.

"I'm telling you", said the other girl, "it's true. Aline Penhallow _herself_ confirmed it. You know she knows everything." Aline Penhallow was one of the school's it-girls. Typical bimbo. She was rich and easy. She had been with at least all of the popular guys more than once.

"I just can't believe that Jace Herondale is transferring to our school tomorrow. Why is he leaving Idris, to come to this shitty little school? I thought he had princely duties." Clary immediately was shocked. Jace Herondale was coming to her school? Jace Herondale was the prince of Idris. He was in line to become the next King. And if his high political status and fame wasn't enough, he was gorgeous. Everyone knew who he was even though he wasn't from America. He was on so many talk shows and all over social media, it was almost impossible not to know him. Clary thought this was interesting, but she didn't really care. As long as it didn't affect her school and art work, she didn't care. She was already so close to getting a scholarship to NYU, she didn't want anything to mess it up. In fact, she thought this was a good thing. It would distract most of the girls in school and give them something to drool about instead of poke fun at her red hair and freckles.

She opened the stall door, and the girls immediately stopped talking. They both gave her a dirty look, and walked out. Clary walked over to the sink and washed her hands. She looked up into the mirror, and just stared at herself. She didn't look like the other girls. She didn't wear makeup, other than coverup, mascara and lipgloss. The cover up didn't fix all of her freckles. The mascara did little for her eyes; they were bright green, but she thought they looked like little kids' eyes. In fact, she thought she looked like a little kid. She didn't have big boobs, or a big butt. She didn't have curves; she was just pretty thin. She was so short, just barely five-feet tall. And her hair was a bright red curly mess. She was always a little angry that she couldn't look like her mom. Jocelyn was tall, thin, and curvy. Her mom had long wavy reddish brown hair, and her mom was beautiful. Clary was not.

She splashed water on her face and went to class. The rest of the day, all people were talking about was Jace Herondale. She wondered what his personality would be like. He seemed like a charmer on TV, and he seemed friendly enough. She would never try to talk to him, of course not. She just wondered if he was any different than the rest of the guys in her school. She was also secretly anticipating his arrival more than she let on. She was interested in seeing how his presence changed things at her school. However it changed things, she knew it would be interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, I'm back! I hope you're liking this story so far! So a few quick things before onto the chapter(you'll meet someone special, hint hint Jace!) ;)**

 **So anyway, for this story I'm not sure how many chapters it's gonna be. I know it will probably be a lot since I planned out most of the story and it's pretty long and filled with drama (and romance of course). The chapters aren't as long as I'd like them to be, but I'm working on making them longer.**

 **Second, I don't have an update schedule planned. Right now I have a lot of summer school work I** **waited to start, but I'm still writing as much as I can. I'd like to update every day, but that's going to be pretty hard, so I'm going to try to get ahead and write a lot of the story now before school starts (once that starts, it gets crazier).**

 **Okay sorry for all this! Onto the next episode! Review, follow, and enjoy :)**

 **Disclaimer: All the characters in this story belong to Cassandra Clare author of The Mortal Instruments.**

Chapter 2

"Mom, can you grab my backpack from upstairs?" Clary said, as she poured her black coffee into a mug to take to school.

"Sure honey, you don't want to be late", said her mom Jocelyn, as she put the bag on the kitchen table. Jocelyn did look similar to Clary, but you could tell she had faced many worries and troubles in her life. Even so, her mom was a very pretty woman. She always looked tired, since she cleaned around the house and painted all day. "I hope you have a good day, I'm leaving now to go meet a client. I'll see you after school sweetheart. Love you", her mom said, as she kissed Clary's head and walked out of their apartment. Clary grabbed her bag and coffee, and headed out the door a few minutes later. Normally, she would catch a ride with Simon, but he had that project, so she was forced to walk.

On the way to school, Clary put her earbuds in and listened some music to get her day started. She was always listening to music; it calmed her down when she was having a lot of anxiety, which was very often. So she didn't mind walking. It let her just be alone with her music and focus on that as it calmed her and made her problems float away.

Even though the walk was a little long, she made it to school on time. However, school was a lot different than normal. As soon as she approached the campus, she was blinded by cameras and cell phones, and they weren't even recording her. _What the hell is happening? They're blocking my way to my locker; if they don't move I'm going to be late for english_ , Clary thought.

Annoyed and curious, she tried to stand on her very tip toes and look at what was at the center of all to cameras: Prince Jace Herondale himself.

She was surprised to say the least. He was more breath taking in person that she could have imagined. He was tall, at least a foot taller than her. He was skinny, but very muscular and built. He was tan, almost golden skinned, with bright golden hair that was styled very prince like. And his face, Clary quickly compared to a statue. He had a perfect face structure, with a sharp jawbone and a beautiful smile/smirk.

And his eyes. Clary immediately thought she could get lost in them, and they weren't even making eye contact. They were golden pools that she thought went on forever.

 _Stop it, Clary. Snap out of it_ , she thought to herself. So she did just that; she decided to pretend her lapse of indifference never happened and pushed through the paparazzi to get to her locker.

Because of all the commotion outside, Clary was late getting to her locker. All the other kids were already walking to class, and she was rushing to try to make it to english on time. She didn't want to have to deal with another punishment from Miss Dorothea; she already was on her bad side for day dreaming in class. Again, logical thinker and Clary Fray were not synonymous.

"Hey." A smooth voice from behind her locker said. Clary turned around, holding her textbooks and shut her locker. She had to stop her mouth from falling open. "I'm Jace Herondale, but I'm sure you already knew that." The golden boy extended his hand for Clary to shake, but she didn't take it. She just kept staring at him. "Okay," he smirked, "well can you tell me where to find the US History class for first period? I would have asked someone who came to meet me out front for pictures, but then class started and it was just you and me in the hallway." _Well he's modest_ , Clary thought. She thought it was really rude of him to act like that. But all that aside, she couldn't ignore the immediate connection she felt to him. The logical part of her denied it, and she tried to tell herself she was imagining it.

"First off, thanks for asking my name, too." Clary said sarcastically. "Second, for future reference, don't tell a girl you're only talking to her because she's the only person in the hallway. And lastly, you go up the steps and go straight. It's three doors down, with a big flashing sign that says "US History" in lights. You can't miss it, sometimes they even have a fog machine and Justin Bieber is the doorman!" Clary began to shut her door and was going to walk away, however she was doing it slowly, to give him a chance to say something back. Jace grinned at her and said,

"If I have anymore questions, I'll be sure to come find you, Angel." He winked at her and walked away. She wondered to herself how someone could walk with that much confidence and "swagger". She did feel a connection to him, but she knew what guys like him were like. Her previous question about whether he was like the guys in her school had been answered: he might even be worse. He had every right to be confident and act like he walked on water, but she just hoped he didn't. She was disappointed. _Forget it Clary. You never had a chance with him anyway, he was never gonna be any different._

Clary had a pretty easy day at school. No teacher assigned much work, and no one paid any attention to her; just how she liked it. Usually after school, her and Simon would drive home together and stop at Java Jones cafe to study. But, Simon's project had caused him to go straight home to work. Clary decided to walk home again.

She got all of her stuff from her locker and started walking out of the school. By the time she reached the picnic tables outside in the courtyard, she noticed someone making his way over to her. She stopped walking and crossed her arms as she watched him walk.

"Can I help you?" Clary frowned, with a little more ferocity in it than she intended. The boy rolled his eyes and smirked. He feigned hurt, and put his hand to his chest.

"Angel, you hurt me." He said playfully. The butterflies Clary felt in her stomach when he called her Angel again were unexpected.

"I bet you say that to all your Idris girls." Clary rolled her eyes and began walking.

"Not quite, Clarissa." He ran a few steps to catch up with her and began walking next to her. It took a second for Clary to realize, but she stopped walking suddenly.

"Wait," she said, while Jace was grinning knowing what she was going to ask, "How did you know-" Jace dramatically sighed.

"It would appear that, being me, Jace Herondale, Prince of Idris, has its perks at this academy. In other words, I have ways." He said suggestively. She raised her eyebrows; both eyebrows, she was never able to raise just one, and it frustrated her that other people could. She just shook her head,

"Whatever, Your Highness." Jace cringed, but Clary didn't notice. She pretended to curtsy. "I must be going now, but thank you for gracing me with your presence, it was truly eye opening." He stopped her before she walked away too far,

"Wait, where are you going?" He said. "I have questions about this place? Who else am I supposed to ask, Angel?" He pouted. Clary rolled her eyes again.

"I'm sure you'll find someone." She said, and turned away to walk home. This time, he didn't stop her. He did, however, watch her walk away until she was out of sight.

The next few days of the week were uneventful. A few times during the day, Clary would bump into Jace. He would say things like, "Hey Angel. What's the deal with the lunch menu? It's worse than my friend's cooking back in Idris." or "Why did Mr. Carstairs start sweating at the mention of his cat?" Clary would always laugh and fill him in on the run down. Clary began to look forward to their mini conversations every day; they were just that though: mini. They were short enough that no one else in school ever noticed them. Clary realized this on Friday when she heard people talking in her Spanish class.

"He's totally into me. He just gets me, you know? It's like, I'm royalty here, and he's royalty there. We're from the same world and we just connect," said Aline Penhallow. She was essentially the school's it-girl. Clary just rolled her eyes. Clary didn't even know Jace that well, but he knew he at least had enough standards to not be with her. He knew her reputation, and he wasn't into that.

The other girls gossiped for the rest of class, and Clary tried to tune them out and focus on the work.

At the end of the day, she was leaving school and going to walk by the picnic tables. She was walking, and stopped suddenly. At the picnic table near where she spoke to Jace for the second time, sat Jace himself. And he wasn't alone. He was shoving his tongue down Aline Penhallow's throat while she ran her hands through his hair, and wrapped her legs around his back. Clary was surprised to say the least. She felt like she got the wind knocked out of her. She was angry. She was confused. And, she was hurt. For a few days, she was beginning to think she had a chance with Jace, or that he felt their connection, too. But then, she just felt like an idiot. _He probably just pretended to be friendly because he was bored. Of course, he didn't like her. Ugh, why was she such an idiot!_ Anyhow, she was done talking to him. She decided that, from now on, she wouldn't answer his jokes or talk to him at all. She would let his real "Angel" do all that, and much more clearly. Despite all this, Clary was reassured of one thing: it was a good thing she kept her guard up. She realized that she could have been hurt a lot worse if she really decided to let him in. From this point on, she'd never let her guard down to anyone.

Clary didn't want to stick around to get a smug look from Aline and a grin from Jace. She put her earbuds in, and aggressively walked home, with the volume all the way up of a Panic! at the Disco album.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Wow, I loved reading the reviews! It makes me so happy to know people are enjoying my story! Because of the reviews and follows and favorites, I tried to get out the next chapter as soon as I could! It's kind of long but I think you will all like this!**

 **Again, just a few quick things before the next chapter! I know a lot of people probably don't read this part anyway but I still want to keep you updated.**

 **First, as for an update schedule, I can say I will most likely be updating every day, but honestly the hardest part is waiting to upload the chapters for you guys! But yes, there will be an update at least every other day if not every day. Sometimes I'll even update in a series of chapters, depending on how the plot goes!**

 **Second, I love reading your reviews! Please feel free to ask questions or say suggestions in the review section, because I would like to start responding to them at the end of each update!**

 **Thanks for reading guys, here's the next chapter! Review, follow, and enjoy! :)**

 **PS. Because of how writing this chapter was, there could possibly be another update very soon...**

 **Disclaimer: All the characters in this story belong to Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments.**

Chapter 3

"Hey Simon. It's me. Clary. Your best friend. The little red head one. Where've you been? We haven't hung out in a while. Can you call me? I'd really like to hang out, I could use a little Fray Lewis time. Alright. Well. Call me back. I'll be here. Not doing anything. So. Call me." Clary left a message on Simon's voicemail. He'd always been so focused on his schoolwork, Clary often found herself a little jealous. He was so smart and dedicated to it; she wished she could be the same.

Clary was laying on her bed, eating a bag of potato chips and flipping through a manga book. After she saw the sickening sight at school, she walked home, slammed the door, and took a long shower. She put on comfy clothes and crawled into bed, and that's where she's been all afternoon.

About an hour after she called Simon, he finally called her back.

"Hey, Fray. Listen, I'm so sorry I've been distant. I've just… I've got a lot going on about college. And this project could potentially help me out a lot." Simon said nervously.

"Simon, you could have told me this. And you can always talk to me about anything! If there's anything I can help with about college, let me know. And you listen now, if you don't get into the top school, it really doesn't matter. You're gonna end up where you're supposed to be and you're gonna kick. serious. ass. No matter what, you're still my best friend and I got your back always." Clary tried to cheer him up. She might have been in a bad mood because of what she saw earlier at the picnic table, but she always put others first. If Simon needed her, her own silly problems could wait.

"Thanks, Clary. I really needed to hear that. I don't think I'm ready to talk about college yet, I want to figure stuff out first. But thanks for not making me talk. And again, I'm sorry for kinda blowing you off for this project. We're going to the record store tomorrow, and we can have a movie marathon on Sunday. Then I'll be at your door at 7 sharp on Monday. Be there or be rectangle." He said seriously. Clary just laughed,

"Oh Simon, you're the smartest person I know, but sometimes you say the unsmartest things." He immediately objected,

"Ah, that's what you would think! In fact that saying makes more sense with a rectangle! A square is no insult, it's an equal shape that…" Simon continues for several minutes with an explanation of why squares are better than rectangles. Clary wasn't even paying much attention; she just let him talk over the phone while she laughed and flipped through a book. Even though she still was a little bummed about earlier, she was beginning to feel better. This was her normal, and Clary didn't think she wanted anything else.

On Monday, when school started, news of Jace and Aline had spread like wildfire. They were even more than a power couple; they were royalty. Unfortunately, or at least so Clary thought, Aline was more than a one time hook up. In fact it seemed like it was all they did. They'd be making out and getting handsy in between every class at their lockers ,or at a table. Every time Clary saw them, she just rolled her eyes and walked away. Clary had lost most, not all, of her interest in what Jace did. She just tried to convince herself that she didn't care at all.

On Tuesday afternoon, she was called down to the Principal's office.

"Principal Blackthorn, what did you need to see me for?" Clary asked politely.

"Ah, Clarissa Fray. Yes, thank you for coming down. We're just waiting for-", He was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Prince Herondale, thank you for coming down as well! It's such a great honor to have you here, how are you liking the school?" the Principal asked eagerly. Clary immediately thought, _what the hell is this? Why is he here?_ Jace looked at her and gave her a smirk, like he almost couldn't remember who she was.

"Principal Blackthorn, you run such a lovely academy. I'm glad I am able to attend." He said, clearly putting on the charm. The Principal, however, didn't seem to notice and was feeding right into it.

"I am so glad to hear! I trust you've had enough time to explore and find your way around?"

"He certainly had enough time to explore something else." Clary murmured. Jace looked at her, and raised his eyebrows, acting surprised that she would say that, yet impressed as well. The Principal frowned.

"What was that, Ms. Fray?" Clary just shook her head. "Alright then, well anyway, you're probably both wondering why I called you down here. I won't drag it on, but I seemed to notice you both have an interest in the arts." Clary was shocked.

"Wait, him? Artistic? How?" The Principal frowned again.

"Ms. Fray, please mind your manners. But yes, Prince Herondale is exceptionally talented on the piano, isn't that so?" Jace just grinned at Clary, clearly enjoying this.

"Yes, that's correct Principal Blackthorn. I play when I can, as I'm sure you know football (not American) is very time consuming." The Principal looked awestruck. Clary rolled her eyes, not understanding where this was going.

"Wow, truly amazing how someone your age finds time to balance work, school, sports, and artistic abilities! Anyhow, there is a school exhibit coming up, and they need a mural and background music. What better way to show school spirit than having some students paint a mural and provide the prerecorded music? I hope you both will do this, I could put this on your college applications." The Principal said. He was clearly trying to bribe the pair, but for one of them, he didn't have to.

"I'd be honored, sir! You had me at school exhibit; I'd love to contribute to this academy!" Jace said in his charming voice. He stole a glance and Clary and smirked at her once again.

"Excellent! And you, Ms. Fray?"

"Well, I have a lot of work-"

"Great! So I'll send both of you some information on your projects. You will each have your own projects but you'll have allotted time during and after school to work in the library, and try to coordinate so the art and music corresponds." Clary just rolled her eyes; she wasn't getting out of this one, so she just nodded.

"Sounds perfect, I can't wait to start! I'm sure we'll make a great team," he said, as he looked at Clary. He didn't say her name though, which led her to believe he forgot it. "Unfortunately I should get going, I have somewhere I need to be. Thank you for this opportunity!" Jace said and then left the office. Clary mumbled a quick thanks and walked out.

She expected Jace to be gone already, so she just started walking to her locker. However, Jace was leaning against the wall right outside the door.

"Hey partner. I bet you're real excited about working with me." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. Clary just huffed,

"Sure. Real excited. Listen, I'll do my art, and then you can play some pieces by composers in the same era as my style of art. But other than that, I'm working by myself." She then turned around to walk away, but he stopped her.

"Wait, what happened to the feistiness last week?" He seemed genuinely confused, and that just mad Clary even more irritated. _First he acts flirty, doesn't talk to me anymore and begins dating the snobbiest bitch in school, and now he acts like he doesn't know why I don't want to be friends?_

"I don't know what you mean." Clary would play the same game. She huffed again and said, "Listen, I know we have to do this project, and I'll do it. But please, leave me alone. It will just be easier for everyone if you do." Then she turned around and quickly walked away. Once again, he watched her walk away until she wasn't in sight.

From what Clary saw, it seemed like Jace's relationship with Aline was serious; or at least, serious enough to stop her from sleeping around with the whole football (American football) team. And Jace, well she didn't really know him before, other than from tv shows. He did have a reputation as a player, and he did flirt with a lot of girls. Clary still didn't understand why she was even paying attention. Normally, she didn't care about the popular rich kids. But, something about Jace made her care, if only a little, this time. And, Aline Penhallow, who knows everything about everything, caught on quickly.

While Clary was washing her hands in the bathroom, Aline came in and cleared the other girls in there out: except Clary.

"What's your name again?" Aline asked rudely.

"Clary Fray, but I don't see why you're asking." Clary said defensively. She was not going to let this little bitchy brat intimidate her.

"Okay Mary Ray," Clary just rolled her eyes. She obviously did that on purpose, and it was so stupid. "I see you eyeing up my boyfriend." Clary was taken aback.

"What are you even talking about, Aline? I don't talk to him."

"Really? Well, he told me about the little arts and crafts project you're making him do. He's only doing it as a charity case for the Principal. He was gonna say no as soon as he heard a freak like you was working on it, but his personal assistants say it's important for his public look." Even though Clary appeared indifferent, those words really stung. "I know you try to get him to notice you, but let me tell you something you're going to hear a lot in your life: You're not pretty, you're not smart, and no guy is ever going to pick you over someone like me. I'm just being honest." Aline shrugged. Clary bit her lip for a second, and was thinking what to say next. Aline looked in the mirror, and pursed her lips, and started talking in a tone she would use with her minions, "Alright. I have to go meet Jace. He was so into it last night that I thought I would spice it up even more tonight. Let's just say he's very good at _everything_ he does. Even better than the guys on the football team." Clary was just staring at the wall. Aline went to leave, but before she did, she turned around and said,

"Gary, if you thought I was a bitch today, I'm just playing nice. Try anything on Jace and you'll regret every walking into my school." With that, she turned around and let the door slam behind her.

Clary had to fight the urge to cry, but she wasn't going to cry here. _That bitch wasn't worth her tears, and even if she couldn't help but cry, it wouldn't be where Aline would see._ Clary looked in the mirror, fixed her hair as best as she could, and walked out into the hallway set on finding Simon and driving home.

The next day was the first day she had to work on the project. After school, she went to the library, and began researching different art styles to piece together a mural. She secretly didn't mind this, with this mural, she could focus on painting, at least if Jace stayed away. He'd already made her life hard enough. If only it was that simple.

"Hey. How's the mural? I was thinking I could help come up with ideas to paint about music and maybe include a design of sheet music that I'm gonna play." Jace said. Clary didn't even make eye contact with him. Even though Clary didn't want to admit it, it was a good idea.

"Okay, that's fine. Listen, I have to focus so I'd appreciate it if I could be alone." Clary said bluntly.

"Okay, that's cool. See you around." He turned around and walked out of the library.

That's how the first three days of the project went. Clary would be working and Jace wouldn't bother her. On the fourth day, however, things changed. That day was the first day they started painting. Jace had to paint the background, which was all red and white, the colors of their school. They were in the exhibit room off-campus, and Clary was trying to take measurements and see how large she needed to make the sketch. Jace arrived ten-minutes late, and have Clary a nod of the head and a simple "Hey."

After Jace was situated, he climbed on the ladder and mixed a sample of paint to test on the wall. It just so happened that he was mixing so fast that the paint can fell, splashing some paint onto Clary's cheek. Clary's jaw dropped and she was surprised,

"Really, Jace?" Jace tried to suppress a laugh, saying,

"Clary, it really was an accident. I just dropped the paint. But you didn't tell me that blue was your color!" He teased her. Clary angrily huffed, and then turned around and walked towards the paint cans they were using.

"Oh yeah? Well, Your Royal Highness, you never told me that green was your color." As she said this, she splattered paint all over him. Jace just stood there for a while, and Clary was beginning to worry he was really angry with her. But instead of getting mad, he started laughing.

"You're gonna lose this one, Angel." Her heart started racing when he called her angel. He remembered, she thought. She was broken out of her reverie when she felt a tray of paint completely cover the front of her shirt. The pair lost control, and paint started flying everywhere. Jace was being playful, and so was Clary, but she couldn't deny she was taking out a little anger at him for disappointing her. They had their paint war for entire paint minutes, when Jace put the paint down and walked towards her slowly.

"Truce?", he extended his hand. Clary nodded and accepted his hand, and began to turn away from him. "Clary, wait." He slowly lifted his hand to stroke her cheek with his thumb, as if he were wiping a tear away, even though she wasn't crying. "You had some paint on your face." At that moment, Clary looked up at him under eyelashes, and she could have swore she felt the invisible force holding them together. She was probably imagining it, but it seemed like Jace was about to lean in.

"Uh, thanks. We should clean up." Clary quickly said and broke away from him.

Luckily, there was a tarp down on the floor so there wasn't any damage done. As for the mural, other things could be said. The entire middle of it was covered in pain splatters.

"You know, I think we should leave it. I think it makes everything less perfect." Jace said as her was cleaning off some brushes.

"Okay." Clary smiled to herself.

The pair cleaned up pretty quickly, said a quick goodbye, and each went home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys! I'm sorry that this took a little longer to write than I thought. I just wasn't sure what I wanted to happen in this chapter. Let's just say, I don't think anyone will be disappointed with it. :)**

 **There's another note at the bottom that I hope you read, too. I couldn't put it up here because I didn't want to spoil anything!**

 **I will also be away tomorrow, so I think the next chapter will be posted on Friday. Luckily this is a long and good one, I'm sure it will hold you over!**

 **Also, for the guest who wanted Aline to get what she deserves, and for Clary to put Jace in her place, this chapter is for you ;) Everyone, please keep reviewing! The reviews let me know what you think and how I can make the story better! Plus they make me write faster lol.**

 **Okay, here's Chapter 4! Review, follow, and enjoy :)**

 **Disclaimer: All this characters in this fanfic are Cassandra Clare's.**

Chapter 4

For the rest of the night, all Clary could think about was the moment she shared with Jace. She could have sworn he was going to kiss her, and now that she kept going over it in her head, she knew that she didn't imagine it. To her surprise, a small part of her regretted pulling away. She knew it was the more logical decision, but she also knew her heart wanted nothing more than Jace.

She went to sleep with a lot to think about; even so, she still had a smile on her face because, after all, it was Jace.

The next day at school, Clary was very apprehensive about talking to Jace. However, he still was seen hanging around Aline, to Clary's dismay. When the end of the the day finally arrived, and it was time to paint more of the mural, Jace entered the room ten minutes late again and gave the usual greeting. The pair were each painting their sections of the mural, when all of a sudden, Jace stopped and said,

"Clary. I think we need to talk." They made eye contact, and it was enough to make Clary's skin feel on fire. _If that's how I feel when we look at each other, what would have happened if we kissed?_ Clary pursed her lips and said,

"Yes, I guess we do." They both put their brushes down, and Jace sat on the ladder while Clary sat in the chair. They sat in a few moments of silence, before Jace broke it, saying,

"Why did you stop speaking to me? The first few days of school here, I thought we were becoming good friends. Then all of a sudden, you started avoiding me and asking to be left alone. You didn't even look at me, until yesterday." Clary gulped when he mentioned yesterday, but to her relief and slight disappointment, he didn't mention it further.

"Well, first, I didn't want to talk to you at all after I found out why you were doing this project. I know it's just for your public appearance. And I know what you really think of me." Jace ran his hand through his long golden hair and mumbled,

"Believe me, you really don't." Clary was puzzled at that comment but decided to ignore it. He paused, saying, "Wait. What do you think I think about you?" Clary huffed.

"I know you think I'm a freak. I know you didn't want to do the project because I was doing it, and you didn't want to have to be around me. Aline told me everything, and then she threatened to ruin my life in some way if I tried to make a move on you or steal you from her, since she somehow got the crazy idea that I would do that." Jace looked shocked. He was getting very angry, and he shouted,

"That bitch said WHAT?" Clary was taken aback; _why he was he this upset? And why did he call her a bitch? He was right, and Clary liked it, but what?_ He started angrily pacing, and said, "That's it. I'm going to go expose her for the bitch she really is."

"What?" Clary asked, completely confused. "Wait, Jace. You can't." She walked quickly to catch up to him and grabbed his arm. She quickly let go, after she felt a spark after touching him. She continued, "If you tell her any of this, she'll know it was me that told you. She'll make my life even more of a living hell than it already is." Jace stared at her with his mouth open, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't decide what.

"This is just another thing I hate about her. She has absolutely no attractive qualities." He said, more to himself than to Clary. Clary shook her head, very confused.

"Wait, what? Jace, I don't get it. You say that stuff but you've been doing nothing else other than shoving each other's tongues down your throats. Forgive me, if I don't believe all you're saying now." Clary said, coldly. Jace ran his hand through his hair again.

"I was planning on dumping her next week." He said quietly. Clary smirked,

"While I agree with that decision, why? I mean, what happened before I told you all of this?" Clary asked curiously.

"I'm bored of her." Clary was a little surprised.

"That's a little cruel, don't you think?" Clary said quietly.

"That's who I am." Jace said, staring at the floor.

"I doubt that. Jace, I don't know you that well, but I know you're not cruel. You were ready to go fight Aline after you found out she threatened me. That's kind. I'm also assuming you did this art exhibit for the right reasons, and not just publicity, so there's that, too." Clary said. She was trying to get Jace to look at her. Jace sighed, and when he looked at her, Clary's heart started pounding.

"Thank you, Angel." He murmured softly. "Listen. I realized I have to do something. So, can we finish up painting tomorrow?" Clary swallowed and nodded. "Cool. I'll see you tomorrow." He packed up his stuff, and walked towards the door as Clary was still getting her stuff. He turned around, and quietly said, "Thank you, Clary." She simply smiled and said,

"Anytime."

The next morning, Jace was at his locker, grabbing some books. He heard the clicking sound of someone's too-high high heels and rolled his eyes.

"Hey babe." Aline said with a seductive voice, as she leaned against his locker and rubbed her hand over his bicep. Jace simply moved her hand off, shut his locker, and stepped back.

"Listen, Aline. This week has been great; you had a lot of fun, I didn't, but whatever. It's not gonna work for me anymore." Aline frowned, clearly confused. "The important thing is, I came to a realization: I don't like girls like you! God knows I've had enough of them." Jace sighed as if he was reliving some tough times, and fake shivered. By this point, many people in the school had gathered around the hallway to watch. "Aline, I don't like you. You're one of the most fake people I've ever had the displeasure of knowing. You were never anything more to me than a distraction, to be completely honest. I feel like I owe you that, even though you were never honest with me." He paused, thinking what to say next. This had to be the first time Aline was speechless. She stood there, dumbfounded, with her jaw on the floor. "Aline, I hope you find someone that likes how shallow and vicious you are. I'm sure there's an asshole out there that is perfect for your personality, bitch." He smirked, and walked through the crowd. Aline seemed to stutter over her words, and came up with,

"I just dated you for your fame!" She yelled. Jace rolled his eyes and said,

"Yeah? And how did that work out for you? What's your name again? I can't remember…" She screeched in indignation, and stormed away, her minions quickly following. With Aline out of the way, Jace smiled and made his way over to Clary's locker.

"Hey Jace." She smiled at him when he got to her locker.

"So I did it. I broke up with Aline. I wish you were there, she was speechless." They both laughed.

"Damn. I'm pissed I missed it." Jace just thought for a minute.

"Nah, I'm sure it will be online somewhere. She really got it handed to her, someone must have recorded it." Clary frowned,

"Wait, isn't that going to be bad for your public image in America?" Jace smirked.

"Probably. I don't know, my publicity team will come up with some lie to spin it around." He just rolled his eyes. "Okay, so now that I cleared up all the bullshit Aline told you, can we start hanging out more?" He asked, nervous and hopeful.

'Sure, Jace. I'd love to start over and be friends." She smiled, and she didn't realize Jace cringed at the word friends. "As long as I don't have deal with anymore of your psychotic girlfriends." She said playfully. He sighed.

'I don't think that's going to be an issue anymore."

The next few weeks were great. Clary would look forward to every time she met up with Jace. Even though they successfully completed the art project, they came up with other reasons to hang out. Jace always walked Clary to class, and they studied together for the classes they did have. Clary found out that Jace was actually almost a full year older, since Clary just turned 18 in August, and Jace was turning 19 in December. The school grade levels in Idris were different than America.

They were quickly becoming great friends, and because of Simon's college issues, Clary started to see Jace more often than anyone else. Even though Clary didn't trust Jace as a boyfriend, she trusted him as a friend. They hadn't talked about Clary's past yet; she wasn't ready for that. But she did tell him about the anxiety she has, and how sometimes she'll get panic attacks. When she opened up and told him this, Jace sat quietly and listened, and periodically reached out to grab her hand or rub circles on her back. He never judged her, and he was always there for her whenever she was stressed or things got to be too much for her.

Jace also opened up to her, too. She could tell it was difficult for him, but he told her a lot about how much pressure he feels to be a good prince. It was a actually his idea to come to America for school; he wanted to get away from princely duties. Even though it was a little irresponsible,Clary understood that. It wasn't rare for her to feel like she wished she could just pick up and leave and be somewhere else.

She also decided that Jace would never fall for someone like her, so as difficult as it was, she tried to ignore the feelings she felt for him.

Clary was walking out of school after the day ended, and normally she walked out with Jace. However, he had football/soccer practice, since it was close to fall playoff season. She walked outside past the picnic tables and saw Jace talking to some of the guys on the team. He looked over at her, and she waved.

"Clary!" Jace was running toward her. He was dressed in his football (soccer) uniform and was a little sweaty. Clary tried to ignore it, but she got butterflies when she noticed his eyes light up when he saw her. Not to mention how attractive he looked in his football/soccer uniform. _Gee, my plan of realizing Jace will never fall for me is going great_ , she thought sarcastically. "Hey, what's up, Angel?" Clary laughed.

"How was your football/soccer practice?" She asked.

"Rough, but good. We're getting ready for the first playoff game on Sunday." He said. He was really good at the sport. He would have been captain of the team, if Jordan Kyle wasn't captain already. Jace didn't want to take that position from Jordan, anyway. "Also, there's this place by my house called Taki's, and I thought we could eat there on Saturday night. I've been going there for dinner for a week straight." Clary laughed.

"Sure, I guess if you're making me." She said playfully.

"Well, I am. So cool. I'll pick you up at your house at six. Don't be late, Clary." He said, knowing she would be. They laughed, said their goodbyes, and each went home looking forward to tomorrow.

At Taki's they ate their meals, and Clary had to agree, they made the best tiramisu. They talked about their classes at school, and how Jace was under pressure this week.

"It's halfway through first semester, and grades are sent home. My parents want to see I'm doing well here. If I don't have a high enough GPA, they want me to come back to Idris." Clary immediately felt a pit in her stomach. She couldn't imagine not having Jace.

"I'm sure you'll have the grades. You're doing well in all your classes." She said, trying to convince herself more than Jace.

"I know, I'm just worried. What would I do without my favorite redhead everyday?" He joked, lightening the mood. Clary laughed, and decided not to worry about it; if anything she should be enjoying his company now.

They realized it had gotten dark out, and decided to walk through the park since the stars were out.

As they walked through the park at night, the last of the leaves on the tree were quietly falling. The stars above them seemed to get a little brighter than other nights. It looked as if one particularly beautiful flower was glowing. They stopped walking and went over to the fence to observes the flower. As they were leaning over the railing, Jace broke the comfortable silence.

"Thank you, Clary. You know I've been going through a lot lately, and you've been nothing but supportive. You really changed me. I hope you know that." He said and reached for her hand. He lightly squeezed her hand, to show Clary he meant what he said. Clary brightly smiled at him.

"I hope I didn't change you too much, I think you were pretty cool." She joked. Jace sighed.

"Believe me, you wouldn't have liked who I was." Seeing Jace so open and honest made her heart grow. _How lucky am I? I'm walking with the most gorgeous guy ever, and he trusts me with all of secrets._ Clary took a deep breath, and looked up at him under her eyelashes.

"I like who you are now." She said quietly, while looking into his beautiful golden eyes. He looked at her in a different way than he usually did. She normally knew what he was thinking, or at least she thought she did. Now she couldn't read him.

She didn't know what he was going to say, and she was sure she had made it awkward by saying what she did. She was about to say she just meant it as friends, even though she didn't, when he leaned in and gently placed his lips over hers. She didn't know what was happening, and if it was anyone else, she just would have froze. But, it wasn't anyone else. It was Jace. Her body and heart reacted before her mind did, kissing him slowly. Within a matter of moments, his tongue traced her lips, asking for entrance, and she quickly gave in. Her hands reached up and she ran her fingers through his hair, while one of his hands held her cheek and the other was on the small of her back. She'd only kissed a few guys before, and they were light, quick kisses. She'd never done this before, but she just naturally knew what to do. She also knew this was no normal first kiss. When Jace pulled away, after seconds or minutes (Clary didn't know), they were both breathing heavy. They just looked at each other. Jace now broke the uncomfortable silence, and said,

"I'm sorry, Clary. I shouldn't have sprung that on you." He ran his hand through his hair and let out and exasperated sigh.

"No, it's fine." Clary said. She was thinking about a lot of things.

"That was something." He said, more to himself than Clary.

"Yeah, it was." She agreed. They weren't facing each other, when Jace turned around and said,

"Clary, I'm really sorry I just did that randomly. I guess I just wanted to do that for so long, I lost control. You really mean a lot to me, and I really like you, so I'm sorry if I messed it up." Clary sighed, and looked at him. She held his gaze when she said,

"Jace, you didn't mess anything up. I'm not going to deny I have feelings for you. I've never felt this way before, and it's kind of scary." He looked at her, with eyes full of hope. Clary continued, "But… I'm not sure I can do trust you like this."

"Clary, you can trust me with anything." She looked at him, and her eyes looked like she was fighting a battle. Inside, she was. Her heart told her to jump in with Jace. She knew she had special feelings for him, feelings she never thought she would have. She knew they had a connection, and she knew she was crazy if she turned him down. But her mind told her otherwise. Her brain, the part that failed at almost all other logical decisions, told her this was dangerous.

"But, Jace, this isn't a secret, or a personal story about my life. This is my heart. And, I want to, but I'm not sure I can trust you with that. How-how do I know you won't get bored of me like you did with Aline, and the many other girls before her?" She asked sincerely.

'Clare-he'd begun calling her that- Clare, that was different. I- I never felt the way I do about you with anyone else. We've only been friends the past few weeks, and we've had more of a connection than I ever had with any of my flings. And…" He looked unsure if he should say what he was thinking next. "I only dated Aline because of you." She immediately was confused.

"What? I don't understand." He sighed.

"When we first met— no, when I first saw you, in the hallway, I came up with some excuse to talk to you. You weren't the only person in the hallway, by the way. Well, anyway, I felt drawn to you. There was something about you, and clearly there's more than that now, but I just had to talk to you. When I started talking to you, not only were you the most beautiful person I'd ever seen, but your personality made you even more special. And, for the first time in my life, I met a girl that I wanted to protect and care for and be there for. But, at that point I was still my old self. I used girls for one thing, and I never cared about feelings. I- I cared about you when I first met you, so I didn't want myself around you. I didn't want to let myself do the same to you that I did with other girls. I thought it would just be easier if I distracted myself. So I started hooking up with Aline. I thought the feelings I felt about you would go away. But clearly, they didn't, they just grew. Clary, I care about you so much. I understand if you don't feel that way about me, and I understand if you can't trust me, but I would never ever hurt you. I would burn down the world just to find you, Angel. I just hope even if you can't trust me like this, we can still be the way we were. You're too important to me to lose." Clary was speechless. It took a lot of self-control not to jump him right there. Instead, she smiled at him, with butterflies in her chest,

"You really feel that way about me?" She asked quietly. He nodded and said,

"I don't even think I properly described the way I feel about you. I don't know how to put it into words." He said honestly. She thought for a minute, chewing her lip.

"Okay." Jace was confused.

"'Okay?' Okay what?" Clary laughed.

"Okay, I'm willing to see where this goes. I- I don't know what I feel towards you or why I do, but it would hurt too much not to explore it. It- it just feels right. But, Jace," she said seriously, "I can't- I can't give you everything the other girls did. I want to take this really slow. I don't want to rush into this. You're now one of the most important people in my life. I won't just jump into this, with my eyes closed. I- I want this to work, but I can't help but be a little nervous. What if… What if you realize you like pretty girls better than me? What if you realize you only liked me as a friend? Ugh, why am I telling you this stuff?" Clary just said everything she was thinking out loud.

"Clary, that's all I would ever ask from you, to try this. And I don't want anything from you, Clary, I promise. I want to keep you safe, and I will certainly do that, even if it's from myself. And all of those what ifs are ridiculous, I'm sorry. First of all, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Second, I do like having you as a friend, but it always stung to hear you call me 'friend.' I've always wanted more than that. I promise we'll take it slow, Clare. I- I want to do this right." Clary smiled at him, and took his hand.

"Okay."

"Okay. Let's go home. Even though I could stay here with you under the stars forever I have a game at 9 tomorrow morning." He paused. "If this is too much, I understand, but I know it's an American tradition for the players' girls to wear their jerseys. Would you wear mine?" He asked nervously. Jace was never nervous, so she knew this meant a lot to him.

"What, I'm your girl now?" She teased him.

"No, you're my Angel." She blushed and giggled.

"Fine, I'll wear your jersey if I have to. Just make sure it doesn't smell like sweat." She made a face at that. Jace laughed and the pair walked back through the park together.

When they arrived at Clary's house, they let go of each other's hands.

"Goodnight, Jace." Clary said quietly.

"Goodnight, Clary." Jace said, and sweetly kissed Clary on her cheek. Clary blushed and turned around to walk inside her house. As usual, he watched her walk away until she shut the door. This time, Jace's heart felt a little less heavy than the other times.

Clary shut the door to her house, and leaned her back against the door. He only kissed her on the cheeks, and he still had this crazy effect on her. She knew they had a good thing going, and she didn't regret giving it a chance.

 **Okay here's the second note. What did you think? I know it seems like I'm rushing Clace, but it's just so much fun to write them together! However, I have many things planned for them in the future, so it's not all smooth** **sailing. And if you're wondering where Alec and Izzy are, (or did you catch on to my Izzy reference earlier in the story? ;) ), you'll meet them, eventually.**

 **ALSO. If you watched the show and latest episode, let me know what you think. I was freaking out about the last scene because CLACE!**

 **That's all for now, see you Friday :) Hope you enjoyed!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews and the favorites and follows, it's what got this chapter updated! I was away all yesterday and I have so much school work and other stuff to do today but I had to get this chapter done first for you guys!**

 **I'm not gonna promise when the next update will be because I learned my lesson with that lol, I didn't want to disappoint anyone if I didn't have it up today!**

 **I hope you all liked the last chapter, it was fun to write! I planned for this chapter to be super short, but I don't think it is anymore lol. I hope you enjoy it, and please read the second author's note at the bottom of the** **page!**

 **ALSO if you wrote a review, check the second author's note because I responded to some of them!**

 **Review, follow, and enjoy :)**

 **Disclaimer: All the characters in this fanfic are Cassandra Clare's.**

Chapter 5

 _Should I put my hair up or leave it down?_ Clary wondered. She woke up an hour early before she had to leave to pick out what she was going to wear to Jace's game. She had decided on ripped skinny jeans, a light yellow tank top, and a orange-red-brown sweater/sweatshirt that hung off her shoulders. She had on brown hiker boots, and decided to wear her hair in a high ponytail. She didn't put on any makeup other than mascara, lip gloss, and some coverup, as usual. She looked in the mirror one last time, decided she looked presentable, before she grabbed her over-the-shoulder bag and walked out of her room.

"And where are you going at 8:00 on Sunday? You're normally sleeping till noon." Jocelyn was leaning against the kitchen table holding a cup of tea. Clary didn't think she'd be up, and was just going to text her later. Clary blushed and said,

"To the soccer game. It's the school's first playoff." Jocelyn raised her eyebrows and gave a suspecting look.

"Since when do you go to sports events?" Clary took a deep breath.

"Since Jace asked me to go." Clary didn't have to look up from the floor to know her mom's jaw dropped.

"You're close with Jace Herondale? I knew you were friends, I've seen him pick you up before, but hmm. Well, I'm impressed." Jocelyn gave Clary a smirk. "Alright, I won't keep you. You better get there before someone starts looking for you in the stands." She winked. Clary sighed in relief and started walking out the door.

"Wait!" Jocelyn said. Clary cringed and turned around.

"You forgot your coffee." Jocelyn said as she handed her a portable mug and smiled. "My, my, someone has you distracted." Clary blushed, and walked out.

* * *

She decided, or more like accepted the fact she would walk to the game. Simon and her had hung out earlier this week, and Clary was going to tell him she couldn't hang out because of her plans with Jace, but Simon canceled first. Clary was beginning to worry that she had done something to Simon, but she knew her best friend would talk to her about it first.

After a walk that felt longer than most days, because she was especially excited to see Jace after last night, she arrived at school 30 minutes early, just as she planned. She'd never gone to many games before, so she followed the signs and went to the stand to show her ID and get admitted into the bleachers. Before she could in line to show her ID, she felt a pair of tan, muscular arms wrap around her from the back. She smiled and snuggled into them.

"You came." The silky voice behind her said. She laughed and spun around in the arms.

"Of course I did. I can't wait to watch you play." She said honestly. She already loved hearing him talk about the sport; he was so into it and really smart. He knew so much more about it than most did, and Clary couldn't wait to watch him play.

"Good. I can't wait to see you in my jersey." Clary blushed. "Here, take off your sweater." She did as Jace asked and handed it to him, as he handed her his jersey. She scrunched it up and brought it up to her nose before she put it on. It smelled just like Jace: like golden sunshine and his cologne. She couldn't describe his cologne, she just knew it smelled goof. Better than good, actually.

"Hmm. Doesn't smell like sweat." She smiled, and Jace laughed. She slipped the jersey over her head, and even though it was super big on her, she really liked wearing it. Jace liked it even more,

"Looks better on you than it does on me. Only by a little bit though." They laughed, and Clary said,

"Okay, it's almost time for the game. I don't want to make a bad impression on your teammates by keeping you from the start. Good luck, Jace. I'm sure you're going to be amazing." She smiled at him and gently kissed his cheek. She whispered something in his ear, and his face went slack. He nodded seriously and kissed her head, before he jogged backwards and waved, then turned around and ran to the sidelines.

She really wasn't sure why she said what she did. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. No, I really shouldn't have said that. It's not that she didn't want to do what she said. But she was the one who told Jace she wanted to take things really slow; she didn't want to get Jace's hopes up with what she was ready to do and what she wasn't. She knew Jace would never pressure her to do anything she wouldn't want to, but she couldn't help but worry he would get bored of her if she didn't.

 _"If you score a goal today, you can score a kiss with me. Last night was pretty amazing, if you ask me."_

* * *

Clary showed her ID at the stand, and walked up to the stands. They were almost all filled, so she sat in the front row towards the middle, where there were a few empty seats. The game had just started, and her school's team had the ball first. The student section was all decked out. They had banners, saying "TAKE DIVISION FALL CHAMPS 2X" since they won the division last year. They weren't able to win states last year, but with Jace on the team, they had a real chance. Jace and Jordan Kyle, the team captain, had more points alone than most of the other teams together. Just as she was thinking about Jordan, a very pretty girl with light brown skin and short curly hair came up to Clary. She recognized her as Maia Roberts, Jordan's girlfriend. She also recognized her since she was wearing Jordan's jersey.

"Hey, I'm Maia. You must be Clary?" She stuck out her hand, and Clary shook it shyly. She was confused,

"Wait, how did you know who I was?" Maia laughed.

"You're wearing Jace's jersey. And Jace talks to Jordan, Jordan talks to me, I see you, so I just assumed. Do you mind if I sit?"

"No, not at all." Clary moved over so Maia could sit; it was nice to not sit alone, even though Clary was too busy watching Jace to realize she was alone.

"Thanks. You seem pretty chill. I was sitting with the rest of the player's girlfriends, but I don't actually like any of them. I just go cause I see them a lot at parties and stuff." Clary nodded, and her and Maia talked some more about school. They discovered they took a lot of the same classes, just at different times. They quickly became friends; they both like talking to the other.

It was just about to be the end of the game, and the score was still zero to zero. All of a sudden, Jace and Jordan got the ball from the other team, and started dribbling down the field. Jordan made a pass to Jace, who kicked it in and scored, right as the second half ended. The whole bleacher section jumped up and was celebrating, especially Clary and Maia. Clary was watching Jace, who turned and scanned the crowd, looking for Clary. When his golden eyes finally landed on her green ones, he pointed at her and smiled. She blushed, as lot of other eyes fell on her too. The team was all celebrating on the field, but Jace quickly broke away and climbed onto the bleachers stand. He jogged up to her and the two hugged. He pressed their foreheads together, and said teasingly,

"I believe there's a promise you have to keep?" Clary laughed.

"Not here, Champ." She put her hand on his chest. "I don't want everyone watching us kiss, that's weird." She scrunched her nose, and made a face. Jace laughed and kissed her head.

"Whatever you want, Angel." Clary smiled at that.

* * *

Jace had to go back to his teammates, so Clary and Maia waited by the guys' cars. Twenty minutes later, Jace and Jordan came walking out together.

"Hey, Clare. Jordan, this is Clary Fray. Clare, this is Jordan Kyle." Jordan shook Clary's hand, and said,

"Hey Clary, nice to meet you, thanks for coming to the game. I see you've met Maia." Maia grinned and said,

"Jace, you've got a real one here." They laughed.

"Believe me, I know." Jace said, and pulled Clary into his side.

"So hey, it's still pretty early and me and Jordan were gonna go get brunch, do you guys want to come with us?" Maia asked eagerly. Clary knew this was a double date, and normally would have been apprehensive at the word 'date'. Jace looked at her nervously, and he knew Clary so well, he started to say,

"Oh, you know, I'm not really sure if we can. I know I have a lot of stuff to do to send home to my parents, since I'm just here with my personal assistants and 'manager'ish person." He said all this while looking at Clary. She smiled at him, because she knew he was just saying this since he thought Clary might not want to go. But she just smiled and shook her head.

"Actually, Jace I think it would be a lot of fun. Do you think you could do all of that stuff later?" She smiled up at him, and he smiled at her.

"Whatever you want, Angel." Jace pulled her in for another hug.

"Cool! So I can text Clary the address, and we'll meet you there!" Maia said, as she and Jordan got in his car.

Clary had only ridden in Jace's Porsche a few times, but she loved that car. Jace opened the passenger seat for her, ever the gentlemen, and threw his stuff in the trunk, and came around and got in his side. They put on their favorite playlist to listen to while driving, which they made in a free period. It had Bastille, Florence and the Machine, Bleachers, Imagine Dragons, All-American Rejects, and Blink-182 to name a few. Instead of jamming out like they normally do, Jace put the music a little lower, and asked Clary,

"So you're friends with Maia?" Clary nodded. "That's really awesome."

"Yeah, she's really awesome. Oh, here." She gave Jace his jersey back.

"You can keep it for next game, if you want. You totally don't have to come, but I'd love it if you did." Jace said honestly. Clary smiled.

"I'd love to come. I actually had a lot of fun. I'd keep your jersey, but then it won't smell as much like you if you don't take it this week." She said teasingly. Jace took it and laughed, and handed Clary her sweater out of the backseat.

After she finished putting it on, Jace was just staring at her. She blushed.

"What?" She asked. He was burning a hole through her and setting her body on fire with his eyes alone.

"You're just so beautiful. And I can't believe how lucky I am." At that moment, Clary had no problem keeping her promise. This time, she started the kiss by leaning over and reaching into Jace's hair, and pulling Jace's mouth onto hers. They were kissing at the same rhythm and she just let go, as she did last night. She wasn't thinking, as their mouths opened and closed with each other's. Jace's hands traced little shapes on her back, as hers played lightly with his soft hair. She was about to crawl onto his lap in the driver's side, when she accidentally hit the car horn. They both jumped, and then Jace pressed his forehead to hers. They both started laughing, and Jace gave her one more short sweet chaste press of lips before they readjusted their seats. "Wow," was all Jace said.

"Wow." Clary repeated. Clary was a little nervous, and now, it was of herself. She thought she'd be able to control herself. But that was the thing about Jace, she couldn't control herself with him. What would have happened if I didn't accidentally bump into the car horn? Clary didn't know. Either way, her and Jace looked at each other, and just started laughing again. Jace reached for Clary's hand, and smiled at Clary.

"Our friends are going to be wondering what happened to us." Clary said. Jace just laughed.

"Whatever will they think?" He asked sweetly. Now Clary laughed at this.

"Thanks for this, Clary. Jordan's probably my best guy friend here. And you're trying to make an effort with him. Thank you for that. You really are incredible." Jace squeezed her hand.

"I know. But so are you. Now let's go, before Jordan and Maia really start thinking. So Jace turned up the music and pulled out of the parking lot onto the road, on the way to their first "double date".

* * *

 **What did you think? I know this was really a fluffy chapter but I needed this chapter to happen so you can all see their relationship "normally" for a little while. So yes, the next few chapters probably will be simple ones about their relationship as high schoolers. I know Jace as a Prince hasn't exactly been written about, but remember, he is in America to get away from his Prince status while he still can. That will all come later, trust me, ;)**

 **So for the reviwers:**

 **Thank you for all of the sweet reviews, they make me so happy. You all are too sweet and I love writing for you guys.**

 **To thatonefangirl1128 LOL panic is one of my favorite bands. I am a huge music person, so most of my chapters will probably having music references in them. :)**

 **Please review and favorite and follow :) See you soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm back! I am so sorry for how long this chapter took. I just realized that if I want this to be a really good story with a good plot and accurate characters, I'm going to have to take more time to update. These first few chapters are not my best and I'm going to try to improve my writing by spending more time on each chapter. I also had a hard time deciding what part of the story to write** **about, and this chapter is more of a flashback I guess.**

 **Anyway, I will still be updating as often as I can, most likely every few days. At least every week, but probably more than that.**

 **Please keep reviewing, the more reviews the faster the story is written! I love hearing suggestions and all the kind words are appreciated :)**

 **Alright I've said enough, feel free to read the author's note at the bottom.**

 **Review, follow, and enjoy :)**

 **Disclaimer: The characters in this fanfic are Cassandra Clare's. Also, the songs and bands mentioned in this chapter are not mine in any way, I'm just a fan mentioning them to show scenes.**

Chapter 6

Saying Clary's had turned upside down would be an understatement. Before Jace got there, Clary had one friend: Simon. No one else paid attention to her, and she was just focused on getting through high school onto college.

Now with Jace in her life, she was finally living. Her and Simon hung out at least once every weekend. Simon came clean and told her why he'd been acting so distant; he'd gotten a rejection letter from where he wanted to go for college, since he applied early. He had been super focused on trying to get in the regular admission, and he was nervously waiting for that letter to come. It hadn't yet. Simon knew about Clary and Jace(because everyone knew). He wasn't a big fan of Jace's, but both guys tried for Clary.

Jace and Clary were inseparable. They were together every free period and between every class. They drove home or walked together, and Clary was at every playoff soccer game, wearing #11. Jace was Clary's first serious boyfriend, despite her being 18 years old, so she wasn't very good at the "boyfriend-girlfriend." It did become a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, on the night of the homecoming dance.

* * *

It was a Saturday night in early November, and that Sunday would be a week from the state championship soccer game to which Jace and Jordan had led their team. Two weeks before the dance, Jace simply just asked Clary to go to the dance with him. He didn't go all out with a big "prom posal" for two reasons: their school really didn't take dates to homecoming, unless it was your boyfriend or girlfriend. Even though Clary and Jace weren't there yet, it was a custom in Idris to take a guest to formal dances and balls. The second reason is because Jace knew Clary wouldn't like that. Even though she couldn't control how people talked about her and Jace, she didn't want to be very showy. She was still the same person she was before she met Jace; she just opened up to him and was different with him, as he was with her. That's what made their relationship so special; to the outside world, they put up a facade and tried to block out other people. Clary had tried to be invisible for so long, and Jace had never felt much of anything for others. But when they were alone with each other, they allowed themselves to open up. Clary soon realized that's what the magnetic pull with him was. She was able to open up and pour her heart out to him, as he did the same. He gave her a sense of comfort she never thought she'd find. They found each other, and became essentially one person.

Clary was in her room getting ready. She wore a dark green tight emerald dress that went to her mid thigh. It was sleeveless, like a tank top. She had on very high dark black high heels, and she put on more makeup than she normally did. She put her hair up in a simple twist, secured with a few clips. She had heard Jace come in, and now was having a conversation with Jocelyn. Jace and Jocelyn got along very well. Jocelyn admitted to Clary she assumed Jace would be a stuck up posh prince, and it was a breath of fresh air to know he wasn't.

Clary made her way down the stairs, and Jace stared at her like she was a supernova in the sky. He looked at her almost hungrily, and the passion and fire behind his eyes made her cheeks heat up. Jace looked too good to be true as well. He was wearing a white dress shirt, and black slacks and dress shoes. Clary was so confused how he was hers. _Jace, the prince of a beautiful country, who could have essentially any girl he wanted in the world, chose her._ And he was standing her, looking at her as if she was the only girl in the world. Jace cleared his throat, which brought Clary out of her thoughts.

"Clary, you look absolutely beautiful." He said, taking Clary's hand.

"He's right! Let me get a quick picture." Jocelyn squealed as she pulled out her camera. "Got it! Okay, be safe, have fun, and get out of here!" Jocelyn said as the pair laughed.

* * *

When they finally arrived at the homecoming dance, the first thing Jace did was pull Clary's hair out of the updo.

"I like it better down." He said. Clary blushed, as they made their way to Jordan and Maia. The four of them had become very close; Clary and Maia were always at games, and they always went on double dates.

"Ah, Clary! You look beautiful! Jace, you look not too bad, I guess." Maia said teasingly. Clary hugged Maia, as Jace and Jordan bro-hugged. Clary had noticed Jace enjoyed hanging out with Jordan, but she could tell he missed his friends and family from Idris. She was realizing that a lot lately. Jace seemed happy in America, he seemed happy to be there with her, but she knew he was missing his home. As much as it was fun for him to not have all his responsibilities that he did in Idris, she knew he belonged there. She was scared of that. She didn't want to lose him, yet she knew it was coming.

"We're gonna go get some drinks, you want any?" Jordan asked. Jace shook his head,

"Nah, bro. We're gonna hit the dance floor." As he said this, Clary's eyes widened; she doesn't dance.

"What?" Before Clary could even ask the question, Jace was dragging her out onto the dance floor, as Jordan and Maia laughed.

"Come on, it will be fun." To Clary's surprise, he was right. They played lots of good songs, including Dance, Dance by Fall out Boy, and In Too Deep by Sum 41, and Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. When it was time to crown homecoming king and queen, Clary and Jace both rolled their eyes and joked with each other as Aline and her latest boy toy collected their fake crowns.

"You deserve a real crown." Jace whispered quietly to her. Clary froze; what did he just say? She knew what he said, but she was so confused. Did he mean- no, he couldn't have. She looked up at him, but he clearly didn't realize what he'd said or regretted saying it because he was talking to some guys from the team that had come over to say hi.

A little while later, the music was still going and Aline was celebrating her victory, but Clary had lost interest in the whole thing. She only went to homecoming her freshman year, and was humiliated when someone knocked the punch bowl on her. She was sitting in the bleachers in the gym; Jace went to grab something to drink. When he got back, he quickly read her mind because he said,

"Let's go." He set the drink down next to her and offered his hand. She accepted it and stood up.

"Why? I thought you still wanted to hang out with the guys." Clary was always selfless; she didn't mind staying so that Jace could have time with his friends. Jace smiled at her.

"You always think of others first, don't you. Well, no, I don't want to hang out with the guys. I came because I wanted to hang out with you. And I know this isn't really your scene, so I planned ahead of time to leave early anyway." Clary stared at him suspiciously.

"You knew I was going to want to leave?" Clary asked, seriously. Jace immediately started to get nervous she was angry.

"Well, no, I just thought if you weren't having a lot of fun we could do what I'd planned. But if you are, we can stay. I just thought it would be fun to do things we can only do when we're alone." Clary eyed him suspiciously, and Jace seemed to realize what he'd said. "NO! That's not what I meant. I didn't mean anything sexual, I just meant talking. We can only really talk when we're alone and I thought it would be fun to do what I'd had planned. And I'm not telling you because it's a surprise. If you decide you want to leave here." He said, seemingly out of breath. Clary just laughed, and squeezed his hand.

"It's fun to watch you squirm. And I'm not sure how I got so lucky; you knew I would want to leave so you planned ahead. Ugh you're the best." She kissed him on the cheek as he led her out of the gym.

* * *

They got into Jace's car, and he started driving. It must have been about 11 at night, but since it was Saturday, there were still a lot of cars about. As they drove, they blasted the song Edge of Town by Middle Kids. Clary loved this song; it gave her the feels. As they drove on this highway, Jace opened the windows and sunroof and Clary just laughed as her blew around crazy. When they finally got close to their destination, Jace pulled off the highway into a field. Clary was questioning this.

"Are you gonna murder me?" She asked teasingly.

"Never know." Jace said. HE pulled farther into the field, more like a meadow, and parked the car. He opened the door for Clary, who stepped out and her heels immediately sank into the dirt. "Oh, almost forgot." Jace opened the trunk, and came back around holding a pair of hiking boots with fuzzy socks. "I figured you'd have a hard time in heels." Clary was shocked, is there anything he didn't do for her? She smiled grateful and sat down in the passenger seat on put them on. "Wait here," Jace said as he went back to the trunk.

Jace came back a few minutes later, and offered his hand to help her out. She got out of the car, and let Jace lead her towards the back of the car. She smiled immediately when she saw what he'd set up. He simply laid out a big red and blue plaid blanket on the grass, and had a few lanterns sitting on it.

"I would have packed a picnic, but it's late at night and I can't really cook so I stopped and got some snacks." He brought all the good stuff, like popcorn and chocolate, and ever the healthy person, he brought some fruit salad, too.

"I can't believe you did this." She smiled at him, as they got situated on the blanket.

"You're missing something, though. I'm surprised you haven't realized it yet." He turned off all the lanterns, and now that the car was off, it should have been pitch black. "Look up." Jace said quietly. The sight of the sky took her breath away. The moon was brightly shining, and the stars were something out of a fairytale. Each one was so bright, and you could see many constellations. "I know you always talking about liking the see the stars, but not being able to because of the city. It also reminds me of Idris. It's a city, but on old-fashioned one, I'd like to think. Some nights I sneak out of the castle and go to the gardens and just look at the night sky. I can't explain it, but I always feel at home when I look at the stars and the heavens. I actually have a white star birthmark," he lifted up his shirt to show her, on his shoulder. Clary smiled, as she lightly ran her finger over it. "Anyway, I just thought it'd be fun to come look at the stars together, and I know you think it's pretty romantic too." He winked at her. They both laid down next to each other, half cuddling, half not. They were holding hands, and Jace kept pointing out different constellations. After a while, they just watched the sky in silence.

"Clary." Jace murmured. She looked up at him.

"Hmm?"

"I… Um... Earlier… I didn't mean to be alone so we could… you know. I would never pressure you into anything you don't want. You know that, right?" He said, his gold eyes giving away how honest he was. Clary knew. She knew he would never pressure her, and that's exactly why she wanted to. She just also knew she wasn't ready.

"I know. I know you would never do that, Jace. It's just that- I hear about the girls you used to be with, and they're so much prettier or built better, and more experienced and I don't think I can give it away like that. It's my heart, Jace, and I trust you with it now, I do. But I just don't think I can give it away right now." Jace ran his hand down the side of her cheek. He sighed sadly.

"Clary. You are, as I say all the time, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. I wish you believed that. You're absolutely perfect, and I always wonder how we happened. I'm not good enough for you, I know that. You're everything I never knew that I wanted, and please, please, please believe me when I say I don't want to do anything to mess it up. You're really everything to me Clary, and if and when you're ready, it will be better and more special than any other time because of how much I care about you." Clary was speechless for a minute. She thought about what to say.

"Well, I think the least I can do after that speech is kiss my boyfriend." So that's what she did. She pulled Jace's face down to hers and smashed their lips together. She poured all of her emotions and feelings about Jace into the kiss, and passionate would be an understatement. Jace's hand held her cheek and the other played with her hair, and Clary ran her hands through Jace's hair as usual. They kissed for minutes, hours, Clary didn't know how long. She got lost in the feel of his lips on hers, of their mouths trying to get closer after every kiss. When they both mutually broke apart, they were breathless as usual. They laid on their backs, and stared at the stars for a minute.

"Wait a minute." Jace said. Clary looked at him, wondering what was wrong. "Did you call me your boyfriend?" He asked, eyeing Clary. She just laughed.

"Oops. I thought this was just a casual hookup." She teased.

"Not even close." Jace said, as he brought her tiny body into the side of his as they stargazed, this time not at each other, until it was time to drive home.

 **What did you** **think? I know there weren't many important things in this chapter, but I'm slowly setting up. These chapters that show their relationship are super important for the upcoming conflicts. I hope you enjoyed, and keep reviewing please!**

 **See you soon! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone! Hope you all had a good weekend! I got A HECK OF A LOT OF WRITING DONE TODAY! Let me just say you're welcome for this... I was gonna make it into two or three separate chapters, and leave you on a cliff hanger but it was just so good to write it all together that I had to fit it in! I am so so so unbelievably excited about this chapter, it's basically what I've been waiting to write!**

 **I don't want to spoil too much but again please read the second author's note. From now on, I'm not gonna mention it but please continue reading the second note at the bottom of the page.**

 **Keep reviewing, all the suggestions and comments let me know what to put more of or less of in the story.**

 **AND ALSO DID ANYONE SEE THE SHADOWHUNTERS FINALE? HOW ABOUT CLACE! I'm probably one of the biggest clace fans ever so my reaction was crazy in that episode.**

 **ALRIGHT I HAVE TALKED ENOUGH, ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

 **Review, follow, and enjoy! :)**

 **Disclaimer: All the characters in this story belong to Cassandra Clare.**

Chapter 7

Clary and Jace had now been dating for 3 and a half months, since it was January. And for Clary, January meant college admission letters. Her and Jace were sitting in Starbucks, studying for a test that week. It was a Monday afternoon, and the pair had made it a tradition to study in Starbucks every Monday since Jace didn't have any princely duties on Monday.

"Do you need another coffee?" Jace asked, noticing she was almost done her mug of black strong coffee. That boy never missed a thing. He got Clary what she needed before she even needed it, which makes sense because he was everything she never knew she needed. She couldn't remember what life was like without him. He changed her, he brought her out of her shell, and she never enjoyed life like she did when she was him.

"Sure." She smiled up at him, and as usual when she looked at him, it was a smile that reached her eyes. She watched him as he walked up to the counter, ever so cooly, and waited in line to order. When he realized she was looking at him, he smiled and gave a small wave. Clary laughed and grinned back. She watched as he approached the counter, where the pretty young blonde girl was working. Jace had a crease in his brow when ordering, showing he was thinking about exactly what to say. That's one of the things she loved about him. He was such a confident person, who seemed like he never doubted himself, yet he did still have insecurities, like practicing the order before he gets up to the counter. _She loved that he only showed her these things; it made here feel as special as she really was to him. Wait… Did she just say love?_ _No, I couldn't have._ Clary thought to herself. She glanced up again and watched as the barista tried to flirt with Jace and was giving him the eyes, but he just pulled out cash from his wallet, and walked away to wait for the drink. He didn't even notice she was trying to flirt with him, and lately, Clary noticed, he's been too busy with her to notice all the girls throwing themselves at him.

When he returned with the coffee, she smiled up at him.

"Thanks, Jace." She took a sip. "You got it exactly right." He smiled and acted all proud of himself for getting her order right. She just laughed, and they continued studying for another hour. After their study session, they had plans to go to Taki's, but Clary's mom texted her she needed her home. Jace dropped her off at home, and then he went back to his house, since they made a pact a few weeks ago to only to go to Taki's with each other.

When Clary arrived home, her mother was sitting at the kitchen table, holding an envelope in her hand. Clary's stomach dropped and her heart started to pound.

"It… It came in the mail today." Jocelyn said nervously. Clary looked at her mom, silently asking if she opened it. Her mom shook her head. _Okay. NYU. Your dream school. You can do this._ She told herself as she began to reach for the envelope. She slowly ripped it open, and opened up the folded paper inside.

 _Dear Clarissa Fray,_

After she read the letter, she looked up at her mom. Her bottom lip was quivering, and tears started to form at the corners of her eyes. She dropped the letter and it slowly floated to the floor. She ran into her mom's arms, and just hugged her tight. She didn't know how long they were like that.

 _We are pleased to inform you that we could like to offer you a spot in this year's incoming freshman class at New York University._

* * *

Jace's phone rang, and he picked up, since it was Clary. He was sitting on his bed, since he had just gotten changed into sweatpants.

"Hey, what's up Clare?" He asked, always excited to hear from her.

"Jace, it's actually Jocelyn." His brow creased.

"Oh, hi, Jocelyn." She told him to call her that. "Is everything okay? Is Clary okay?" He couldn't help the worry from creeping into his voice. Jocelyn paused for a minute, which made the worry grow inside his chest.

"Um. Yes, I think it would be best if you came here though." Before she could even finish her sentence, Jace was grabbing his wallet and keys and running out the house.

"I'm on my way."

"Where do you think you're going? You didn't do any of the interviews or assignments from last weekend, you have to catch up sometimes, Your Highness," said his personal manager, Mr. Wayland.

"I have to be out, I'll do it later." Jace said and shut the door, bolting out. On the phone with Jocelyn, he said, "Tell Clary I'll be there in 5 minutes." He said and hung up the phone so he could drive.

* * *

At Clary's house, Jocelyn giggled.

"Clary Fray, what have you done to that boy?" Both of them laughed, and it made Clary's heart swell to know he cared so much about her. She already knew he did, but it was always nice to be reassured by him. She trusted him completely, but she also like to be reassured. She was a little insecure about Jace, she kind of thought he would eventually leave her as soon as he got the chance. She wasn't the type of girl he was supposed to date; she thought that he was way out of her league. She knew that there would be some issues to face in the future. Jace was a Prince for goodness sake. He was in line to rule a country. He wasn't going to be able to stay in America forever with little old Clary. She tried to enjoy the time they had together this year, and she did just that, but not without a lot of worrying about the future. She needed him. Actually, she more than just needed him. She couldn't imagine living without him. Even her mom saw that. Clary wasn't who she used to be anymore, she was social and friendly, and so much happier. It made Jocelyn happy that Clary was happy, since they had been through so much together. Clary's heart hurt a little bit more each time she thought of Jace leaving, and a part of her wanted to just put her guard up completely so it wouldn't hurt anymore than it had to when he left. She was pulled out of her thoughts when the door burst open and hit the wall behind it was a smack!

"Sorry! Clary, are you okay?" Jace ran over to Clary and hugged her so tight. Since he was so much taller, her head only reached his shoulders, so she laughed as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Yes, Jace, I'm fine." She laughed. "Mom, can I have the envelope?" Clary asked Jocelyn. Jace was very confused, he looked from Jocelyn and Clary but he couldn't figure out what was happening. "So… I- I'm not sure how to tell you this. But I got some news today…" Clary said suspiciously. Jace raised one eyebrow at her, and ran his hand through his golden hair.

"What kind of news? Just tell me already!" Clary laughed and kissed him on the cheek.

"Okay. I got into NYU today!" Jace's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. He immediately lifted her up off her feet and swung her around. He kissed her, but it was only a quick press of lips since Jocelyn was in the room.

"Angel, I know you would! I am so so so proud of you! There was no way they'd ever turn someone down half as amazing as you! This is so amazing, we have to celebrate. Let's go to Taki's. Jocelyn, too. My treat." Jace looked at Clary, who looked at Jocelyn. Jocelyn gave Clary a look like, _hmm impressive. He's a keeper._ Clary just laughed and nodded.

Jace finally let go of her, and him and Jocelyn had small talk until Clary came down, wearing one of Jace's sweatshirts, ripped jeans, and her signature converse shoes. Jace didn't miss the fact she was wearing his sweatshirt; Clary saw his eyes light up when he saw her. When Jocelyn locked up the door and Clary and Jace were waiting by the car, he wrapped his arms around her from the back and nuzzled his head in the crook of her neck. He whispered,

"It looks good on you, Angel." Clary blushed and turned around and kissed him on the cheek. Jocelyn came walking out and said,

"Alright, I'm driving." Both Clary and Jace said,

"I call shotgun!" At the same time. Jocelyn rolled her eyes and said,

"Sorry, Clary. Jace wins this one." Jocelyn got in the car as Clary playfully punched Jace in the shoulder.

"Damn, Clare! You got a right hook!" He said teasingly. She playfully glared at him and said,

"You better watch out Prince Herondale, I'll win the next one." She said with a wink. Jace laughed and they both got in the car. Clary specifically didn't call him Your Highness, or Your Grace, or any other royal name other than Prince. Jace confessed that he didn't like being called those things. All his life, he told her, people only liked him for his name and status. He knew that he was too famous to not be recognized in America, but he hoped he would have a chance to be a normal kid since he didn't rule over anybody here. So far this year, he has had a normal life. He's been studying hard in school. He's been kicking ass on the soccer/football team. And most importantly to him, he's met the most amazing girl who's changed him for the better. He is happy here, but he has things he is responsible for.

At Taki's, Clary ate her chicken fingers and dipped her fries into a milkshake. Jace made a face when she did this, but she converted him when she made him try one. Jocelyn didn't bring up anything about Jace's choice for college, and Clary was grateful for this. Jocelyn knew Jace had to leave at some point, but she was not the type of mom to tell her daughter to break up just because it wouldn't last forever. She knew what they had was real, and she was beginning to treat Jace like her own son. Jocelyn was going to let Clary make her own decisions, even though she hoped she would choose right.

They finished at Taki's and drove back to the Frays'. They invited Jace in to watch a movie, but Jace said he had to return home, to finish some work. He gave Jocelyn a hug and kiss on the cheek, and she went inside. Now that it was just him and Clary, he said,

"Clare, I am so unbelievably proud of you. You're the most incredible person I've ever met, and I know you're gonna do great things at NYU." Clary blushed and reached out to hold his hand. He did the same, and she squeezed his hand.

"Without you, that's not true." Jace rolled his eyes and was about to interrupt, but Clary said, "No, let me finish. It is true, Jace. Before you even came to my school, I'd wanted to go to NYU and I had the grades, but I didn't have the extra-curriculars. I was so not self-confident in anyway. I just wanted to rush through high school and get the hell out of there. But, when you showed up, it literally changed everything. I felt pulled to you, and I automatically was a different person around you. You always say how I changed you, and I got you to settle down, but really, you changed me. You gave me the confidence to talk to other peolpe, and to not care what other people say about you. God knows you have to deal with more gossip in a week than I do in a lifetime. But you just made me a better person, and I think if you didn't show up and push me to do things like art murals, or take art classes, or do community service at the library, and everything else we've done these past four months, I don't think I'd be where I am now. So, thank you. You're always giving these breathtaking speeches that knock me off my feet and make me wonder why you'd ever settle for a girl like me and how you deserve so much more than I could ever give you. So I tried my best to tell you all you've done for me. Thank you for making these past few months the best of my life." Clary said and smiled up at him. Jace's eyes were cloudy, but still bright gold at the same time. He sighed.

"Clarissa Adele Fray. There is no one else on earth I would rather be with. I'm not sure why you think I'm settling for you. I- I try to tell you all the time that you're the most special person to me, and you are. And also, you've given me more than I ever could have imagined wanting. Please, Clary. Don't feel like you don't deserve me because that's just not true. I don't want you to spend your time thinking that because I can't even imagine being with someone other than you. A part of me is waiting for you to wake up and realize I have far too much baggage to ever be a stable boyfriend." Clary knew how much it hurt him to say this, she heard his voice break at the word waiting. She just squeezed his hand.

"Jace," she interrupted.

"Yeah?" He looked at her, waiting for her to say something.

"Shut up." His eyes widened.

"Wait, what?" Clearly surprised at what she said. Clary just laughed.

"I said, shut up you big dummy. It was my turn to make a big speech, and yours was way shorter than mine but still stole my thunder. I'll get you for that." Clary wriggled her eyebrows. "Listen to me. It seems like we both think we don't deserve the other. But- let's make a promise. We promise not to break each other's heart." She looked up at Jace, waiting for a reply. He looked at her with a look like she was actually an angel that came down from heaven.

"How could you even possibly think in that tiny but genius brain of yours that I would ever even consider damaging your heart, when it's my most prized possession?" Clary blushed and laughed.

"Just promise me." She said. Jace leaned down and kissed her, quickly. His hands went to her hips, and the small of her back. Her hands wrapped around his neck, pulling his head down towards her.

"I promise." He said, with a husky voice. She closed the inch distance apart from their lips and kissed him with all the passion she could put into a kiss, and he clearly kissed her with all the need he had for her to stay with him. She smiled against his lips when she thought of how his voice got more raw after kissing her. She loved the effect that she had on him. She was beginning to love more and more things with each passing day. While they were taking things slow physically, the most they ever did were super hot makeup sessions like the one they were invested in now, they were on the express train in the mental department. Clary knew how she felt about Jace; there was no denying she had 100% fallen head over heals(or converse) for this boy. It had been four months, and she couldn't picture life without him. It scared her. No, it terrified her. She didn't understand how she could feel so strongly about a person in four months, but she just knew she would do anything for this beautiful golden boy. For HER beautiful golden boy.

* * *

After Jace arrived home, Mr. Wayland immediately told him to go to his house and call his parents. Whenever the King and Queen made a call to Jace's office phone, it wasn't good. Jace cringed and took a deep breath before walking in. He picked up the phone and called.

"Jace. Nice to finally hear from you. Listen, your mother and I are pleasantly surprised at how well you're doing in America these past few months. Your grades and football scores are very very impressive. As you know, the school year starts in July in Idris. Since you basically repeated the last year of school before a university, you're still going to be in your first year in a university. As the Prince of Idris, _you must be back living in Idris by July_. You will have to continue your education as planned, at Idris University. It is custom for the future King to attend school there and, as I'm sure you know, it's important for you to follow these rules and do as we say." His father, Stephan, told him. His father kept saying stuff and talking about the plans for his time at Idris University, but Jace stopped listening after the words return to Idris. The only thought on his mind was Clary. He couldn't leave her, he had fallen completely in love with her. But, he had duties as a Prince. He was responsible for all of his people, could he really just run away from everything and be with Clary? He assumed he would have to go back eventually, but he'd just been trying to ignore it and not think about it.

Despite arguing with his parents about other ways, he lost that battle. He was going to have to come home to Idris in July.

* * *

 _One month later…_

On a particularly rainy day after school, Jace and Clary were sitting in their normal booth at Taki's. For the past week , Clary had been beginning to think Jace was going through a lot. She would always offer to listen, but she didn't want to pressure him into telling her. She noticed specifically today that something was wrong. He wasn't eating his pancakes, he wasn't making eye contact with her, and he wasn't really talking.

"Okay, Jace. I gave you a week to get out of the funk or to talk to me. Your time is up. What is going on? Please talk to me." Her voice was very pleading and raw in the last sentence, and she reached across the table and held his hand tight, trying to give him feelings for him through that small touch. He looked up at her with golden eyes, and for the first time she ever saw, he took a shaky breath.

"Okay. It's time I guess, it won't help to hide it anymore." He took another deep breath and squeezed Clary's hand. "So last month, the day you found out about college, I got a call from my parents." He stared at Clary, expecting her to get angry for holding it in for a month, but Clary just nodded patiently for him to continue. "And, they told me I was doing surprisingly well here, and then they… they started talking about my university education next year." Clary's eyes darkened and she just looked at the floor. She already knew where this was going, she was kind surprised it's been this long. "And… they said the school year in Idris starts in July, so… they said that I have to come back and live in Idris by then." He breathed out a sigh as if a weight were lifted, even though telling Clary only made it more real. Clary started to shake; she knew this was going to happen but she wasn't ready to let him go. "I argued for hours. Believe me, Clary I did. And, and i'm so sorry for not telling you, but I didn't want make it real, Clare. I thought it would ruin the time left if you knew I was just gonna leave." Clary took a very shaky breath, and quietly said,

"I always knew you had to leave, Jace. I- It's just me, I could never ever ask you to leave those people. You're going to be responsible for them soon, and they deserve a leader like you." They both squeezed each other's hands.

"I don't want to leave you, Clare." He said quietly. Clary came over from her side of the booth into his, and snuggled up against him. "Clary Fray, I am hopelessly and completely in love with you." Clary froze. She untangled herself from him and sat, staring into his eyes which already gave away everything he was saying. She couldn't believe it. She knew she felt the same way but she just never really imagined Jace Herondale, the ladies man, saying I love you to someone as simple as her. "I love you. I'm not sure why I waited this long to say it. But I always knew. From when I first saw you, and I wanted to protect you instead of play you. I felt different about you, and I think I always knew it was because I loved you. It took hearing I had to move around the world and live in a different country. I can barely take not seeing you for a day, which, I can't even remember a day that we didn't see each other." He took another deep breathe, and ran his hand down her cheek and played with a curl in her hair, as she cast her eyes downward. Tears were already forming and she had the lump in her throat, so she knew if she tried to speak she would start to cry. She looked up at him under eyelashes, as he continued. "I love you, Angel. Which is why… I want you to come to Idris with me."

 **Okay! What did you think? Like I said I was going to leave a cliff hanger on what the phone call was, or just him telling her he was going, and I was going to have him ask her to go next chapter but it was just too cruel!**

 **For the reviews,**

 **jessilou525 you're gonna find out soon! thanks for the review!**

 **and for the guest that said they like happy** **clace, I wish I could tell you that's how it was gonna be for the whole story... but it's not gonna be all calm for much longer! I'm so happy this is your favorite story!**

 **Thanks for all the reviews guys, I hope you liked this chapter! See you soon!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi!** **Okay, I think this was a pretty fast update! It was a good chapter to write, and again I couldn't leave you on a cliffhanger, that would be too cruel!**

 **All the reviews are lovely to read :) I love knowing you guys are getting into the story, it makes me want to write even more!**

 **ALSO did anyone read Lord of Shadows? I didn't read it, I only read the Clace part and I'm so upset! I don't want to spoil it but I did not think Clary had a good enough reason to say no to marrying Jace. She doesn't know anything for sure and even though she thinks she's protecting him, she's really hurting him by not saying yes. But that's ok, I'll just marry him instead! If you'd like to talk more review or PM, I have been freaking out about it for months lol!**

 **Alright, onto the next chapter! Please review, follow, and enjoy :)**

 **Disclaimer: All the characters in this fanfiction belong to Cassandra Clare.**

Chapter 8

 _He took another deep breathe, and ran his hand down her cheek and played with a curl in her hair, as she cast her eyes downward. She looked up at him under eyelashes, as he continued. "I love you, Angel. Which is why… I want you to come to Idris with me."_

* * *

Clary actually stopped breathing. She felt her heart stop, and her jaw hit the floor. She didn't know how long she looked like that. In fairy tales, or in tv shows, the usual response would be a look of shock and an immediate "Yes!" followed by an intense make out session. But, this wasn't either of those things. This was Clary's life. She had to watch out for her mom. She had to make sure Simon was okay in college. SHE had to go to college; this thought probably stung her the most. She had worked so hard to get into NYU, it was her dream and her mom's dream for her. She normally would have automatically rejected Jace's idea. But, it was Jace. She would do absolutely anything for him, she just wasn't sure if doing this would be the best idea for either of them.

"Clary, please don't be upset with me. Let me explain everything." She closed her mouth, after she finally picked her jaw up off of the floor. Even though she wanted to keep staring at the floor, she forced herself to look Jace right in his magical golden eyes. She could see how much she meant to him; he really did want her there with him, almost too badly.

"So I had that call about my parents about me maybe staying here for more time, but they refused. So for an entire week, I thought we were really going to have to say goodbye. But then I thought, what if you came to Idris with me? First, since I'm almost 20, people are starting to wonder why I'm not settling down with a girl yet. Everyone would love to see me with such a stable and perfect girlfriend." If it were anyone else than Jace, Clary would have thought that last sentence was just to butter her up, but she knew that wasn't the case. Jace said it would any hesitation, like it was an accepted fact that Clary was perfect in everyone's eyes.

He continued, "Next, probably the most important thing, I've been doing a lot of research into the schools. I found out NYU offers the most studying abroad over any school in America. I checked online and Idris is actually one of the places they offer courses. You could take basic courses at Idris University, and still either take courses online or meet with a professor from NYU. IU has all the majors you would want but NYU is still an option in Idris. I also thought you'd just live with me, in the palace. It makes the most sense, I wouldn't want you living on your own since you wouldn't know the people and you would be alone some of the time. I haven't told anyone about this, I've been waiting to ask you but I really wanted to make sure I had all of the details before I said anything. My parents will absolutely agree to you living with us at the palace, and they would absolutely love you. But I didn't ask them or Jocelyn because I wanted it to be your choice. Don't decide now, please. Take however long you need, I'll be waiting when you make up your mind."

Clearly he thought of everything. Despite the huge decision she was about to make, knowing he thought so much into this made her heart squeeze. Clary took a deep breath and stared at the floor. Jace took her hand and squeezed it.

"And Clary, the most important thing. Please, please, don't feel like you're pressured to come with me. I want nothing more in the world than to share the country I love with the girl I love, but you don't in any way have to. I hate myself for what I'm doing to you, I'm asking you to choose between me and your life dream. If you decide to stay here, I'd hope we can try a long distance relationship. It- It won't be the same but I have faith that we can make it work between breaks." He offered a small smile. Clary just sighed at the floor. They were still sitting on the same side of the booth together, with their knees touching and hands connected.

Clary could never be mad at him, but she was the opposite of mad about this. She would have been mad if Jace just left for Idris and didn't even offer to bring her. But, she didn't really think he would take her, so she didn't think of what she would do if asked.

"Jace." She paused. She looked up at him and he was looking at her with so much vulnerability. He would never say these words, but the look he was giving her told her that her decision could make or break his heart. He would never say these words because he wouldn't want to put that pressure on Clary, but she noticed anyway. "First, I love you, too. I never thought I'd hear you say that when I first met you, but I think we both have come a long way in these last 5 months." Jace smiled at this and nodded. "Second, I'm not mad in the least. I understand and I don't know what I will do if we have to be that far apart. But, I need to think about this. Part of me, Jace, wants to throw away everything and dive head first into this. But, you might not remember, when you first kissed me, I told you I wanted to take this slow. I told you I didn't dive into things head first. Even though this is the opposite of slow, I want to try to stick true to that. I need to think. And there's the other part, the college part, the part where I wouldn't see my mom, and Simon, too. There's so many things I have to think about. But, for now at least, I'm not saying yes. I'm also not saying no." Clary smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze.

"That's all I ask, I'd rather you not decide now before you make the wrong choice and regret it." He said sadly. Some people might think he was referring to choosing to stay here and wishing she was with him, but Clary knew the real Jace. He meant he didn't want her to mistakenly choose to go with him and regret it later, and even resent him for making her go. "Alright, we should probably get home now. It's still raining pretty bad, but I think we'll be ok if we run to the car.

They left a tip on the table and paid at the counter.

"Do you want me to go get the car and pick you up so you don't have to get rained on?" Jace said sincerely. Clary opened her mouth slightly, and just shook her head in awe. _How could she ever have gotten so lucky? Her boyfriend, was inviting her to come live in his palace, and be with him? And now, he was offering to run through the rain so she didn't have to get soaked._ She laughed out loud, and Jace looked confused at her. She decided to be bold.

She laced her fingers thorough his hand, and pulled him out into the rain. Within a few seconds, they were already soaked. She kept pulling him until they were in a quiet alley alone. As soon as they got there, Jace said,

"Clary, it's pouring rain, what are we doing-"

She reached her hands around his neck, and cut him off, saying, "I love you so much, Jace." Jace groaned softly and smashed his lips down onto hers. He gently walked her backwards and pressed her back against the alley wall. Even though they were soaked down to their skin, this was definitely the hottest make out yet. Clary ran one hand through his soft, wet, golden hair, and the other hand held the side of his face, as if she was afraid to let go because he would slip through her fingers. Both of his hands held on to her face and ran through her hair, afraid to let go. With each kiss, they tried to capture more of each other than the previous one. It was a clash of tongue and teeth, with hands flying, exploring more than before. They were expressing every emotion they had; Jace's deepest desire to have Clary with him in Idris and Clary's desire to go with him. For those minutes or hours that they were kissing in the pouring rain, Clary's reasons for staying in New York slipped away one by one.

* * *

When Clary arrived home, all soaked, her mom asked how her day was. Clary responded with a simple, "Good," and went up to shower and sleep. She thought maybe when she woke up, she'd have a decision made.

She didn't.

* * *

"Mom. We need to talk." Clary said to her mom, as they made coffee in the kitchen. They both went to sit down on the couch, which is where they had most of their family discussions.

"Alright, don't hold back." Her mom was never one to judge, and really was a cool mom.

"Jace is leaving for Idris in July. And…" Clary took a deep breath. "And he asked me to come with him." Clary said quietly, and she was fiddling with a ring on her finger nervously. She looked into her mother's green eyes for disapproval or anger or- Clary wasn't sure what she was looking for- but she saw none of that.

"I was wondering when he would ask you." Clary's jaw dropped. Before she could ask, her mom said, "No, I didn't know. I just assumed. I know you're being careful with all that fun stuff," her mom winked at her, "but I also see how emotionally serious you are. I've never seen you this happy, Clary, and-you know I'm extremely critical of guys- I really think Jace is a good one." Jocelyn paused and took Clary's hands. "Clary, I am not telling you what to do. You are 18 years old, and you will be living mostly on your own either way. This decision really is up to you. If you were telling me to see my disapproval, I really don't have any either way."

"But, mom. What are you gonna do here without?" Jocelyn started laughing.

"If your only reason for not going is me, I'd be very upset with you. Also," Her mom added teasingly, "I thought I taught you how to come up with better excuses than that." Clary laughed,

"I'm serious, Mom. I don't want to leave you alone." Her mom shook her head.

"I won't be alone. I have Luke." Luke Garroway was her mom's best friend. She knew there was something more there, though, and ever since they moved into that apartment, Clary always hoped they would get together.

"Jace already looked into colleges there. He said he called NYU and found out they have a program in Idris, and I could study a major with professors there and take requirements at Idris University." Her mom nodded.

"That all sounds really good. Someone clearly did a lot of planning." Clary offered a small smile.

"He did." Jocelyn smiled back at her.

"Clary, this has to be your decision. You need to do what you want. I might seem like a crazy parent for not discouraging my only daughter from flying to a foreign country in Europe with her HOT Prince boyfriend, but after all we've been through, I'm not going to stop you from living your own life. Babygirl, I'll support you no matter what. But you should decide soon. I can imagine your little boyfriend going through the same if not more emotional turmoil as you. Don't want to give him any gray hair, cause man, the golden hair works for him!" Clary laughed and just nodded. At this point, there were tears forming in her eyes, and they were beginning to fall. "Clary, baby, don't cry. I trust you. You're gonna make the right decision, and if not, it's not permanent. You can always fly one way if you change your mind." Clary nodded.

"Thanks, Mom. I love you."

"I love you more, Clary."

* * *

Clary had just texted Jace to meet. She had a hard time deciding where to tell him. She finally decided on meeting in the park, at a bench where they walked by on a previous date. She thought a public place would be good; she was very nervous about telling him her decision and having other people around would be good. She told him to meet at 10, and it was a Saturday morning. When she was just walking into the park, she noticed he was already there.

"Hey, Clare." He stood up to give her a kiss on the cheek, and handed her a cup of coffee. "I thought I'd stop on the way." He offered a smile. Clary smiled back and nodded.

"Thanks, Jace." Clary took a small sip from her hot coffee. They sat, and it was nice to see leaves finally on the tree. It was the beginning of March, and it was warming up just a little. It was still cold enough to have to wear a jacket and a scarf, and Clary was wearing just that. She was wearing jeans, a sweater, and a thick brown jacket. She had her hiker boots on with long socks folded over, and a yellow-gold scarf on. Jace was dressed fashionably as ever, with skinny jeans and a thick gray coat with a gray scarf. It made the golden skin seem a little more golden. Clary was confused on how he had barely paled over winter; his skin still seemed warm from the sun as ever.

"So you made up your decision?" He asked quietly. Clary nodded. "Okay. Well, I figured you'd decide to stay here. So I wanted to tell you it's okay. I found out we can Skype every day when I'm going to sleep and you get ready for school, and I can fly out every break and-

"I'd love to come to Idris with you." Clary interrupted.

"I could keep the house I have here so I have a place to stay on breaks when I visit, and I could make sure to get on all the traveling groups, and-" When he finally registered what Clary said, his eyes widened into huge golden orbs. "What?" He inhaled sharply. Clary laughed softly. She ran her fingers down the side of Jace's soft cheek, and he slightly closed his eyes as she did so. She touched him like an artist would touch a painting, or a sculpture, or any piece of art.

"I said I would love to come to Idris with you, Prince Herondale." Jace ran his hand through his hair, and took a deep breath.

"Wow," he said softly. He turned to look at her, and Clary saw relieved he was in his eyes. His eyes really were a golden window into his soul. "And-" he swallowed, "You're sure about this? It's really what you want? I didn't pressure you into deciding this right? Because I'd never forgive myself if I did." Clary laughed.

"Jace. The only thing I want in the world is you. If that means flying to a new country, and going to college there, than I'm willing to do it." He looked at her like she was the only person in the world.

"Clarissa Fray, I love you." He said as he leaned into a passionate kiss. The reason why Clary wanted to be in public is so that their kissing didn't escalate. It might seem silly to some people that she was willing to move across the world, but still wouldn't sleep with him. But moving to a new place didn't feel so- permanent. She clearly trusted Jace completely, and they did both love each other, but she just wasn't ready to give up her virginity yet. She didn't believe in waiting until marriage, but she just wanted to be really sure she was ready. And she didn't think she was yet.

When Jace broke apart from their kiss, he widened his eyes. "Oh my gosh! We have to call Idris University and NYU to get them to send the details!" Clary laughed, and rested her head on Jace's shoulder as she curled into his side on the bench.

"Jace, we have time." Jace reached his arm and pulled her even closer. He softly kissed the top of her head, and sighed a sigh of complete contempt.

What Clary said was true. They finally did have time, and lots of it.

 **So? What did you think? Review and let me know! I was going to have Clary first tell him no, she was going to stay here, and then change her mind at the last minute and go with him but I thought that would put a strain on their** **relationship and lose trust. So I went with this.**

 **Not sure when I'll update agin, probably pretty soon since I'm getting on the second part of the story. The first 8-10 chapters were supposed to be part 1, but I have to edit my plans for the story.**

 **I hope you liked this chapter, please leave reviews so I can hear what you think! See you soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello! I am so sorry for how long this took. Honestly, a lot of stuff has gotten in the way. I had a lot less time to write with school and sports than I thought, and I've been kind of sick for the past weeks with some medical issues. I knew that I would finish this story, it might just take longer than I thought.**

 **I have to say the thing that inspired me to write was the song Past Lives by Borns. It's the best song right now.**

 **I won't make you wait longer, I hope you like this chapter. I hope to update again soon, but I don't know when. I do know where I'm going with this story, there's just a lot to decide in between!**

 **Favorite, review, and enjoy! :)**

 **Disclaimer: All characters in this fanfiction belong to Cassandra Clare. The songs mentioned do not belong to me, I only used them to describe the character's music choice and describe the setting.**

Chapter 9

"I'm assuming you made your decision?" Jocelyn asked Clary as Jace's car pulled away in the driveway. Clary smiled.

"I'm going with him." Jocelyn reached out and squeezed Clary's hand as they shut the front door and walked inside.

"Oh, Clary. I'm going to miss you so much. It won't be the same here without you. But I think you're going to be happy. Just promise me you'll be careful all the time." Jocelyn looked at Clary with a little worry.

"Of course, Mom. I'm so happy that you're okay with this. It is what I really want. All my life I've been this simple girl who never did anything unpredictable and never did anything I wasn't supposed to. This just feels right and I finally don't feel so out of place. As silly as it sounds I never felt like I fit anywhere; I always felt different from everyone else. But not with Jace. Ever since I met him it's been like I finally found my place. I'm really happy I don't have to give that up." Jocelyn smiled at Clary.

"We're gonna have a lot of work to do, getting you all set up." Clary gave a small laugh.

"I know, and I can't wait."

When Clary woke up the following day, she felt like her life was a dream. She got into her favorite school, she had a gorgeous and polite boyfriend, who happened to be a Prince, and she was moving with this boyfriend to live in his beautiful home country in Europe.

Clary rolled across her bed to turn off her alarm on her phone and as usual, woke up to a text from Jace. It said:

Good morning my Angel. Since the next few weeks are going to be crazy with packing (we leave in 110 days!), I thought we could have one last day trip without worrying about anything. Already told Jocelyn we'd be out the whole day, and I'll be there at 10 to pick you up. I can't wait to see your beautiful face.

Yours truly,

Jace

P.S. Bring a bathing suit ;)

The last part made Clary blush. With their school work and Clary's art and Jace's sports, they were already so busy. Now that they had to move all of Clary's stuff and get ready to move across the world, they would have a lot less free time. Clary put her phone back on the table and flipped onto her stomach. She buried her face in her pillow one last time and breathed in the familiar scent of the room she had lived in for many years now. She was going to miss it. A few minutes later, she finally got herself out of bed with a shirtless Jace as her incentive.

"I'm not sure when we're going to be home, but I'm assuming some point today?" Clary said, while she took a bite of a honey crisp apple. She always liked honey crisp the best; they were really sweet but not as much as red delicious, and they weren't overly sour like granny smith's. Clary was always one of those "weird people" who never ate the crust of things, and the same thing applied to apples. She would eat the skin, but the best part is when it was all the inside and completely sweet.

"Ok, well I'll be here. Just make sure you're home by tomorrow morning, we are going out to brunch with Luke at 11. Maybe it will be our Sunday tradition." Jocelyn smiled at Clary. Clary laughed, and was about to pry more into her mom's love life when her own knocked at the door. Jocelyn rolled her eyes. "I don't know why that boy knocks anymore, he's at this house as much as any of us."

"He's got manners, Mom." Clary insisted, as she sprung up from her chair and opened her door to hug her boyfriend. When she opened the door, she saw Jace standing in all his golden glory. Even after dating for a few months, he could still take her breath away. Clary was simply in a nice navy blue silk romper with red and purple flowers and some gladiator sandals with her hair in a messy bun with sunglasses. Jace was in simple clothes as well, but nothing he ever wore looked simple. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder. He was wearing a three quartered sleeve white button up shirt with summer knee length short and converse sneakers. He gave her a bright smile and her heart fluttered just knowing his eyes lit up when he saw her. He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Good morning, Love." He whispered into her ear. He pulled apart but kept her tucked into his side. "Good morning Jocelyn!" He let go of Clary and gave her mom a hug as well, which warmed Clary's heart.

"Morning, Jace. Any details about the plans for today?" She asked. Clary knew her mom was trying to find out information for her since Clary had already told her it was a surprise.

"If it's okay with you, Jocelyn, I'd like to keep it a surprise from that one over there." He said as he pointed to Clary, who innocently shrugged her shoulders. All of them laughed. "We probably should be going, we have a long drive!" Jace went over and picked up Clary's bag without her even having to ask, and put it by the door. "Have a great day Jocelyn, I'll have her home by midnight."

"Sounds good. Be careful you two."

"Bye mom, love you."

Clary and Jace walked to his ever fashionable car, and Clary leaned against the side as he put her bag in his trunk.

"You're really not going to tell me anything?" Clary tried to give her best puppy dog eyes, but Jace could be very stubborn.

"Can you believe that in a few weeks we're going to be packing up the car together and flying to Idris to live together?" He changed the subject as he walked around and they both got in the car. Clary let out a deep breath, half of excitement and half of surrender about trying to find information. "We still have to come up with living arrangements, you know. You could always stay in my room. I might be a prince but I have a king size bed!" Clary just stared at Jace for a second to see if he was serious, and in a few moments they were laughing so hard; Clary had tears coming out of her eyes.

"That was rich, Jace. I don't even want to know where you got that one from or how many times you've used that." She said in between giggle fits. "Just know that won't be working on me."

"I knew it wouldn't, I should have gone with the line about the closet space."

"Oh, God. Please stop." Clary giggled. Once she finally caught her breath, she tried her luck again. "So you really can't tell me where we're going?" She asked sweetly. Jace just shook his head; he was stubborn as well.

"Sorry, love, I can't. I'm not even supposed to be bringing you here. I've only been here once in my time in America but it's a little family secret tucked away. Only a few people know about it. In fact, I might have to kill you after you see it." Clary rolled her eyes.

"At least we know who the drama queen is in this relationship." Clary said teasingly. But I still want to know we're we are going."

With one hand on the wheel, Jace took the other hand and did the zip lips gesture. Clary bit her lip to stop from laughing, and began to smirk deviously.

"So… you won't tell me where we are going… even if I do this?" Clary slow began to trail soft kisses on Jace's hand, wrist, bicep, shoulder, and neck. Jace tried his best to maintain his focus on the road, but he groaned,

"You're pure evil, Clarissa. And no, I won't tell you. But I can tell you I'll be getting you back for this." Clary laughed, and was only excited by his 'threat'. A little too excited, she thought.

As they drove, Jace opened up the sunroof, and Clary stuck her head out like a little kid, giggling as the wind blew through her hair. They were on an open road and it was a very sunny day. It was perfect, she thought.

"Thank God we share the same music taste. I don't think I could be with someone who didn't listen to Bastille religiously." Clary said, as Good Grief blasted through the speakers.

"You're right about that, I couldn't be with someone that didn't know all the worlds to Sympathy for the Devil (by the Rolling Stones).

* * *

When they finally arrived to their destination, Clary discovered it was a small little waterfall that led to a small lake. It was very private, and very serene. It was just where she wanted to be.

"Do you like it?" Jace asked nervously. Clary grinned at him, and squeezed his hand.

"It's incredible! But I'm not too happy about having to jump off that waterfall." She wasn't exactly afraid of heights, but she wasn't a daredevil.

"I'll be with you." As cheesy as it sounded, Clary knew she could do it. She could do anything with Jace by her side. Little did she know, Jace felt the same way. That was part of the reason he asked her company to Idris: he had many tasks ahead of him that he was unsure he could handle, but with Clary by his side, he was confident he could.

* * *

Hours later, and many jumps later, they both laid on towels on the rocks, looking at clouds in the sky. The whole day had been just the two of them, being themselves and not having to deal with any pressures they normally faced.

"We should probably get back now. I wanted to stop and get some food on the way home. You know, I could really go for some pizza." Clary pouted,

"I don't want to leave yet, it's too nice here." Jace laughed.

"Thanks for coming with me today. These next couple weeks are gonna be stressful. We're gonna have to ship all your stuff in the next few weeks, and the servants at the castle will set up your room." Clary sighed, as she snuggled into Jace's side.

"I'm gonna have to get used to having servants around." Jace laughed.

"You better. Honestly, they've been a part of my life forever, they're more like my family now. I can't wait for you to meet my best friends. Well, Alec is more like my brother, and his younger sister Izzy can be annoying, but I love them both like family." The Lightwoods were Jace's closest friends in Idris, and he talked about them so much that Clary felt like she already knew them. The only people she was nervous about meeting were Jace's parents. They probably were very unhappy he settled for someone like her. She could just see the disapproval in their faces now.

"I called my parents. I actually called them the day you said you would come. They're so excited to meet you. Even my mom, who doesn't like anyone, said you sound like someone she would get along with. They're gonna love you. They should be here for our last few weeks here, and they'll fly back to Idris with us."

"That sounds good." Clary said quietly. "Do you think they'll think I'm goof enough for you?" Jace quickly replied,

"I think they'll think the same thing I do: how am I good enough for you?" Clary blushed, and gave him a quick chaste kiss.

"Let's go get you your pizza."

"Ahhhhh you're the BEST!" Clary laughed and the pair got in the car and ate an entire pizza at the restaurant.

* * *

When they got back to Clary's house, Jace dropped her off and went home. They had school in a day, and they had many papers they both procrastinated. When Clary got home and showered, she laid down in bed in comfy sweatpants and her favorite band tee. She checked her phone, and found a few text messages from Simon. He was asking her to meet and talk tomorrow, and she realized she would have to tell him about her move. She hoped he wouldn't be too upset.

When she finally resolved to tell him the truth tomorrow, she felt her eyes begin to feel heavy, and memories of her day with Jace replied behind her eyes as she fell asleep with a smile on her face.


	10. Chapter 10

**I am so sorry for how long this took. I have had school midterm tests, sports stuff, and I haven't been feeling great either. I feel bad that I said this would be up soon and it took so long to write, but it's a very long chapter, and I think you all will enjoy it. I will finish this story, it will just take a while since I'm busy and it is also difficult to write.**

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 **I know you're probably waiting for the chapter, so I will get on with it. This is a long chapter, and it isn't the best writing, but I wanted to at least update so you all could read it. A better chapter is next, and I hope to write that soon.**

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 **Disclaimer: All characters in this story belong to the author of the Mortal Instruments Cassandra Clare and do not belong to me.**

Chapter 10

Clary ran. Her vision was blurry from the tears, but she ran in the direction of the bathroom. Once she finally reached the bathroom, she opened up the door, and leaned her back against it while she continued to cry.

Jace. It was ironic how the only person that could make her feel better was the one person she couldn't handle seeing.

 _Two days previous…_

"Blanket?"

"Yeah."

"Medicines?"

"Yeah."

"Computer?"

"Yes."

"Your favorite sweatshirt?"

"Yes, mom-"

"Your special pillows? You know you can't sleep without-

"Yes mom, I have all of that. I packed almost everything. I'll be back to visit in a few weeks." Clary said, pretending to be slightly exasperated. She was trying not to show it, but leaving her mom was one of the hardest things she had to go through. She knew Jace would feel so bad about making her leave, so Clary pretended she was fine. Jocelyn and Clary were standing in the airport.

"Okay. You're going to have such a great time. But oh, my baby, I'm going to miss you so much. Why did I agree to letting you leave me?" A tear ran down Jocelyn's cheek. At the same time, Clary's eyes started to fill with water. They engulfed each other in a hug. They each said a million silent words that they both could understand. Jace was in a serious conversation with a guard at the airport, and began to make his way back over to Clary and Jocelyn.

Clary quickly wiped her eyes and began to let go of her mom. Jace knew this was hard for her, but if he knew how much it upset her to leave, he would never forgive himself for asking.

"Ugh, I guess I'll miss you too, Jace." Jocelyn turned to Jace and Jace wrapped his arms around her. It truly warmed Clary's heart to see Jace this close with Jocelyn. She couldn't ask for a better mom, or a better boyfriend.

 _Boyfriend._ The thought still was enough to make her feel butterflies. Not only did she have an extremely hot, kind, heart-melting, jaw-droppingly gorgeous boyfriend, but this boyfriend happened to be the prince of a peaceful country in Europe, Idris. AND, this beautiful boyfriend was taking her, a complicated girl just trying to be simple, to this country.

"Jocelyn, thank you for all you've done for me here. I really felt welcome, you treated me like a son here, and I appreciate it so much. Most of all, thank you for letting Clary come with me." Instead of words, he used a look and another hug to show how really grateful he was.

"You two are lucky to have found each other. Alright, you crazy kids. You should probably go before they call your bags." Jocelyn said, always, always keeping them in line. Jace grinned sheepishly.

"Uh, about that… I couldn't allow my beautiful girlfriend on her first flight to my home country, arrive in anything but the best." He picked up the rest of Clary's bags and led the two over to a different door.

"Jace, what are you talking about?" Clary said suspiciously. She eyed him. It was only her second or so time flying and she didn't like it. Clary and Jocelyn shared a suspicious look.

"After you, ladies." Jace opened the door that went outside, and Clary and Jocelyn stepped through. Clary's jaw hit the floor, and Jocelyn just laughed.

"A private jet! Oh my gosh! Jace!" Clary screamed and jumped into his arms, and as usual, he lifted her up like she was a feather.

"Why am I not surprised, Jace?" Jocelyn laughed.

"And any time you can visit, this will be what you will fly in. I hope you're able to fly out soon, I'm sure Clary will want to show you around." Jace said to Jocelyn, and she smiled and gave him a hug. Jace broke the silence that was starting, "Alright, well, I'm going to go put the bags in. Clary, take your time. Just come on the plane whenever you're ready. Goodbye, Jocelyn."

"Bye Jace!" Jocelyn waved, as Jace took their bags to the plane.

"What am I going to do without you, mom?" Clary asked, once again with eyes full of tears. Jocelyn put her hands on Clary's face and wiped the tears that slipped out with her thumbs. Giving Clary a look of confidence and eyes full of love,

"You're going to be just fine. We will talk every day, and we can try to visit maybe once a month. I think you're going to love Idris." "Wait. You've been there before?" Clary asked, confused.

"A few times, when I went on the trip throughout Europe. I thought it was the best little country I've ever seen and I even stayed there longer than I thought. The people are very nice, and it's such a beautiful place." Clary smiled, and held Jocelyn's hand.

"I hope this means you will visit soon." Clary said. Jocelyn nodded, and they hugged each other again. Jocelyn broke away first, and said,

"You should probably go." Clary nodded.

"Goodbye, mommy." Clary hugged her mom another time, before walking towards the stairs of the plane. Then she waved, as she walked up and nodded to Jace.

Jocelyn walked back inside and watched the plane take off from right outside the airport. She went out and Luke was there to drive her home. When Jocelyn got in the car, Luke looked over and said,

"You're ok. And so is she." He reached over and held her hand.

"I'm ok. And she is too." Jocelyn smiled at Luke, and they drove back to Jocelyn's house.

Clary and Jace were sitting on the seats in the plane, and they were getting ready to take off.

"You're sure you want to do this? I mean, we can always come back any time you want to." Jace nervously said, as he rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. Clary reached out for him.

"Come here." Those two words were enough to silence him, and he immediately moved closer to her on the seat. She leaned on his chest, and he held her. She absolutely loved how safe she felt in his arms, enclosed in her little safe space where no one could ever reach her. She felt like there was no other place she belonged more. "I'm scared." Clary could feel him take a sharp breath.

"Clary, I'm sorry I asked you to do this, I don't want you to despise me for it and I know I was being so selfish, and of course you're scared, you're changing your whole life." He let out a sigh of frustration.

"You know, you're a dumbass." Jace's eyes widened, and he fumbled for words. Clary laughed, and put her hand on his chest. "I meant I was afraid of the plane. I don't like to fly." Jace let out a sigh of relief.

"Sometimes, you really mess with me." By the gleam in his eye, Clary assumed he meant other things that what he just said. But she chose to ignore it at the time.

A few minutes passed, and as they took off, Clary held Jace's hand tightly as he rubbed soothing circles on her hand. When the plane was in the air, Jace unbuckled and went to get some water for them. When he came back, Clary was almost hypnotized by the view.

"I thought I would be afraid being this high up." Clary said, as she rested her chin on her arm as she looked out the window.

"You're not?" Jace asked, as he set down the water on the table in front of them, and sat down in the seat next to her. This was a very high class private jet. The pilot was very professional, and there were different cabins. One was the main area where there were seats and tables and snacks. Another cabin had two beds, and a bathroom. The last cabin was an area for the pilot and attendants. All of their suitcases went back in the bedroom, and if there were more people, some of the chairs in the main area switched into beds. There were many tvs, and it was beautifully designed.

"No. I don't know if you would understand, but since I was younger I used to sit outside when I was feeling anxious or sad or, I don't know. When I was outside, I would look at the stars, or feel the wind, which always was so magical. I don't know why but whenever it was windy out, it kind of made me feel like I was in a book or show. Anyway, I would look at nature, and I'd think about all the other people in the world. And that made my problems seem not as bad. It made me think whatever I was worried about, a fight with friends, an important assignment at school, or anything else, wasn't as stressful as I was making it. My point is, looking out and seeing the 'big picture' now and seeing the mountains and cities is giving me the same sense." Clary looked away from the window, and Jace was staring at her with a look of incredulity. She blushed, and said, "What? Am I that crazy?"

Jace shook his head, as if he couldn't believe her, and said,

"I still wonder, every time you open up to me, how you can be so incredible. You say the most profound things, but you explain them in a way that makes so much sense. You are so selfless. Most people I know would not think about other people, but you think about how lucky you are and you're so grateful. You inspire me, you know." Clary shyly put the hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear.

"Well, you've given me someone to open up, too." Jace smiled, and grabbed Clary's hand to squeeze. They both looked out the window, and enjoyed the peaceful, calm moment. Clary broke the silence a few minutes later, "You know, it really is true that sometimes you just find the person that feels like your other half. I'll admit, I didn't think it'd ever happen to me. I didn't actually think there was someone that I just connected with. And no, I don't mean it that way, get your head of the gutter." She smiled at Jace's smirk, and playfully smacked his arm. "I'm being serious. It's like you're the only one who really sees me." She rolled her eyes. "I walked into that one." Jace was now laughing so hard, it even made Clary laugh. "I'm just grateful that I have you. To talk to. To listen to music with." She stopped talking. "To do this with."

Jace gave her a playful look, that also challenged her. He didn't expect her to do what she did next. She turned around on the seat, and moved to straddle his lap.

"And this." Clary wrapped her hands around his neck and ran her fingers through his hair. She began to lightly kiss his neck, as his hands rested on her hips.

"Clary-" His voice came out very gruff, and it made Clary's heart hurt. She loved that she was the only person who got to see him, so vulnerable and shaken up. With her, he wasn't always super confident and controlled, and that was one of the things she loved about him. As she kept placing kisses on his neck and shoulders, his hands tightened on her hips. "Clary, I-" He took a deep breath, and Clary gave him an innocent look.

"I'm sorry, am I distracting you?" She smiled a devilish smile.

"Oh, you are evil." She laughed, and softly kissed his forehead. "Clary, I am trying to be serious now. I don't want you to feel rush or anything."Clary's heart hurt more than ever. He was so good to her. She trusted him, but she knew she wasn't ready to give that part of her to anyone yet. She was so worried he would get bored of her, or tired of waiting, even though he constantly told her he'd never. "You know I want whatever you want, whenever you want it." When he said that, he couldn't have said anything better. That was what Clary needed to hear. She knew he'd never pressure her, and that he would wait,

"I know Jace." She pressed her forehead against his, and gave him a long, slow kiss. It took both of their air away. "I wasn't planning on joining the mile high club or anything," Jace's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. Clary giggled, "-but I thought we could do this." She continued to kiss him, slow and fast kisses, some sweet and playful and some consuming and emotional.

"Whatever you want, Angel."

After they'd kissed for a very long time, a very very very long time, Jace got up to go get snacks and food from the kitchen area. He returned with a bag of Doritos and some apples.

"DORITOS?" Clary yelled. She jumped up and hugged him, and then grabbed the bag.

"Only the best for you." He laughed.

"But how?" Idris didn't have Doritos, that is why Clary packed many bags of them.

"I had them put in the plane and some back at the castle because I knew how much you love them." Clary blushed, and savored the great nacho cheese flavor.

"You, Jace, are the greatest." They both laughed, and Clary even offered him some of the Doritos, which he refused because he didn't want to take any from her. As they sat on the comfortable seats, the pilot told them they were more than half way there. Jace put a show on, and as they watched television and ate some food, Clary asked, "So how come your parents didn't fly out? Not that I wanted them, too. But not that I didn't want them too, because they seem so nice, and it's not that I don't like them, but I'm just afraid they're not going to like me, and-"

"Clary, it's ok." Jace laughed. "They had some important stuff they couldn't do later at home. I don't know what it was, but they said they would just see us in Idris."

"Oh, okay. You're alright with that?"

"Sure," Jace nodded, "I mean I miss them, but it's only a few days later. Plus, we couldn't have any fun on the plane if they actually went with us." Jace teased playfully.

"I would throw a Dorito at you but I don't want to waste any." Jace frowned, and they both laughed.

After the long flight, they finally got to Idris. Clary was shocked at how beautiful it looked from inside the plane, and was starting to be very nervous about meeting everyone. Clary just got changed in the bedroom, and applied more makeup than she usually wore. She was wearing black ankle high heel boots, light black tights, a short black skirt, and a white flowy button blouse with yellow flowers on it. The colors of Idris were blue and white, so she put a blue gem necklace on and a blue ring. She put her hair up in a nice ponytail, and took one deep breath before leaving the bedroom. Jace was fixing his tie in the main room, and he immediately stopped what he was doing when Clary came out.

"You look absolutely beautiful, Clary. As always." he added. She blushed. She just watched him, thinking how handsome he was. He was wearing white dress shirt and black dress pants. His sleeves were rolled up, something Clary always found attractive, and his collar wasn't buttoned all the way.

"You don't look that bad either." She said. She walked towards him, and gave him a look of question. Jace nodded, and handed her the tie. As she tied it, and fixed his white dress shirt,

"Clary."

"Mmmm?" She answered.

"Everyone is going to love you. I know you're nervous,"

"Me, nervous? I'm alright." Jace rolled his eyes.

"I know you Clary. You shouldn't be nervous. My family is going to love you. And there might be some cameras around, but the car will take us directly to the castle where my family and best friends will be. It won't be that many people and then you can settle into your room. I will be with you the whole time." Clary smiled, and Jace caressed her face with his thumbs. She closed her eyes.

"What if your family doesn't like me?" She said quietly. He hugged her.

"I know they're going to like you, but even if they don't, it won't matter. I care about my family, but I care about you like you were my family, too. I would never leave you, Clary."

"Okay. Okay, I'm ready." Jace put Clary's coat on her, and then got his. He carried Clary's bag to the door, and then held his hand out. Clary took it confidently, and they walked out together.

There were a lot of cameras, but no one was mean. There were a lot of people there to welcome Jace back, and they even made welcome signs for Clary, who they called "Jace's girlfriend". They already welcomed her, and were nice to her even though they didn't know who she was. Jocelyn was right about the people, they seemed very nice and welcoming and Clary looked forward to interacting with them. Jace opened the door for Clary, and then got in and drove.

"Why don't you have someone driving you?" Clary asked.

"I said I wanted to drive. This is my car here." It was a very fancy sports car that Clary couldn't pronounce. It was a very nice royal blue and the inside smelled like Jace. Or Jace smelled like the car. She didn't know, but it smelled like sunshine and the best cologne she'd ever smelled.

They drove, listening to music, and arrived at the castle. Clary was absolutely speechless. It was beautiful. It was an old fashioned castle and looked as if it were part of a fairytale. It was incredible.

"Jace…"

"Yes?" He looked over at her, much more interested in her reaction than the beautiful castle.

"This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen. Thank you for bringing me here." He squeezed her hand.

"Thank you for coming with me, love."

They drove right up to the front of the castle, and a man in a suit came out. Jace got out of the car and opened up the door for Clary. They went to get the bags from the trunk, and when Jace saw the man, he went up to hug him.

"Michael, it's great to see you."

"Mr. Herondale, we missed you here. And who is this beautiful young lady?" Jace walked back over and proudly put his arm around her waist.

"This is my girlfriend, Clary Fray." Clary blushed.

"Hi, it's so nice to meet you." Clary said.

"And you, too, Ms. Fray. My name is Michael Wayland. You will be living here, right?" Clary nodded. "Very good. If you ever need anything, I'm the 'butler' or personal assistant to the Herondales. I would be delighted to answer any questions you have."

"Thank you, Mr. Wayland." Clary gratefully said.

"Please, call me Michael." Clary nodded.

"Well, we're going to go say hi to everyone." Jace said.

"I will get the bags and bring them to your rooms." Michael said.

"Thank you, Michael." They both said. Jace walked Clary into the castle, holding her hand the entire time. He gently rubbed circles on her hand, and it calmed her down.

The inside of the castle was just as incredible as the outside. It was hard to explain how magical it was. It was old fashioned, but modern at the same time. There was a lot of intricate designs for the wood on the ceilings, and beautiful designs on the carpets in the hallways. The castle was absolutely massive. It was the biggest building Clary had ever seen.

"We're going to go to the family room. My father is probably in the throne room now, but the throne room is usually filled with citizens and people meeting my parents. It will be more relaxed in the family room, I can show you the massive tv I watch all my football games on." They both laughed. "I promise I can show you around later, I know it seems big and scary now, but it's actually incredible."

"Are you talking about yourself?" A voice from behind them said. They both turned around, and standing there was a beautiful girl. Beautiful was an understatement Clary thought. She had long black pin straight hair. She had tan skin, and killer curves. She only had on a little makeup, but she was one of the most beautiful people she'd ever seen. She had gorgeous dark brown eyes, and an amazing fashion sense. She wore very high heels, and a trending gray dress.

"Isabelle!" Jace ran and embraced her in a hug. Clary stood there awkwardly, playing with the ring on her hand. "Did you miss me that much?" He teased

"You wish, ass. Where's my bag? The one you said you would buy right from New York?" She crossed her arms and gave him the death glare.

"I have it, but not with me. Sorry, Iz. Do you really need another bag? You have almost 50." Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"A girl can never have too many purses. Now, who is she?" She looked over to Clary, who was standing by herself.

"That is my beautiful girlfriend, Clary." Jace said with a smile. Isabelle gave a death glare to Clary.

"Are you going to explain why you're dating my brother's best friend? You do know you're not going to get any money. There's no award for dating an idiot, even though there should be." Clary laughed. She shook her head,

"I agree. Actually, I'm dating your best friend's brother because I care about him. Well, at least when he isn't being an absolute ass." Clary crossed her arms and gave Jace a look. Jace sheepishly looked at the floor and gave Clary an apologetic look. When she looked at Isabelle, Isabelle was hysterically laughing. Isabelle patted Jace's shoulder and said,

"I like her. She's got fire. You done well, kid."

Isabelle laughed, and held out her hand for Clary to shake. Clary shook it.

"Right. My name is Isabelle Lightwood. I go to school with Jace. My family and Jace's family are very close, in fact I live here as well. If you need anything, especially fashion advice, although I must say I love your outfit. Especially the shirt! But anyway, I have a huge closet and I'd love for you to try some stuff on! You're much smaller than me, we might have to, hmm." Isabelle mumbled things about sewing as she lifted Clary's arms up and inspected her outfit. Clary gave a look of fright to Jace, who laughed.

"Iz, we should go, Clary and I are meeting my parents."

"Okay. Clary, I really hope we can be friends. You seem like a really cool person. Good luck meeting the king and queen! I wouldn't be too worried, they're much nicer than me." Clary offered a smile and nodded. Isabelle turned and walked away, her heels clicking on the wood before she got on the carpet. Clary and Jace walked to the next room, and Clary took a deep breath.

"You're perfect." Jace pushed the hair out of Clary's face and gave her a quick chaste kiss. "Isabelle loved you, just so you know. And she is the most difficult person here. So if she likes you, everyone else will love you." Clary smiled. "Ready?" Clary was, so hand in hand, they walked into the family room.

"Jace? Is that you?" A woman's voice said.

"Yes mother."

"My boy!" A woman walked over to Jace and gave him a hug. She was much shorter than Jace, but taller than Clary. "Oh, Jace we missed you so much! I hope you don't go on any more trips that long, I don't know what I would do without my baby." When Jace's mom let go, Clary looked at her. She had blonde hair in a braid, and wore fancy clothing. She was a queen, that made sense. She had blue eyes, and was very beautiful. She reminded Clary of Jocelyn. "Oh, I'm sorry for being so rude, but you must be Clary. You're even more gorgeous than Jace had said. Which is a compliment, because Jace over here said you were the most stunning girl he had ever seen." She smiled.

"Mom.." Jace said annoyed. Clary laughed.

"My name is Celine. I am so glad you came out with Jace. This is your home now, so anything you need, you can always ask anyone around here, especially me! I hope you don't mind me saying, but I've always wanted a daughter, so I look forward to getting to know you better." She gave a warm smile, and Clary felt calmer.

"It's so nice to meet you, Your Majesty."

"No, please call me Celine. The formalities can be so annoying."

"Alright. Your kindness means so much to me. I cannot thank you enough for welcoming me. I'll admit I am quite nervous about meeting everyone. But if you all here are anything like Jace, I'm very lucky. So thank you for letting me into your home." Celine smiled at Clary.

"Well done, Jace. You certainly are special, Clary." Clary blushed. "Please don't be nervous. You're always welcome here. Thank you for watching out for Jace. We didn't want him to leave home, especially with all the jobs around here, but if he hadn't gone he wouldn't have met you!" Celine reached out and pulled Clary into a hug. "I think we're going to get along well." Clary smiled and hugged her back.

"Did I hear someone's here?" A booming voice rang through the cozy, cabin themed family room.

"Dad!" Jace walked over to his father, and gave a manly hug.

"Enough about you, Jace. You're not who I was talking about. You must be Clary!" Jace's dad was a handsome older man, with brown hair and Jace's same golden eyes. He was just about Jace's height, and one could see where Jace's strong build came from. "I'm so glad to finally meet you! You let us know whatever you need, we're willing to bribe you in whatever food or clothes you need for putting up with Jace. We know it's impossible sometimes, and we always recognize those with extreme bravery."

"Dad, stop. I'm not that bad." All three of them, Clary, Celine, and Jace's dad gave him a look. "Okay, alright! I thought I would at least have a day of being favorite, I clearly see Clary's beaten me already."

"I'm Stephen Herondale. You can call me The Best." Jace put his head in his hands.

"No one calls you that, Dad." Jace said.

"They won't if you say that! Ugh, it's fine. Clary, my _favorite_ young person, call me Stephen."

"I will."

After Clary and Jace had talked to his parents and told them all kind of stories, Jace asked if he could show Clary her room, and walk around the castle. As they were walking out of that room, they bumped into someone.

"Baby!" A girl with blonde hair jumped into his arms. "Oh, I missed you so much." She said in a seductive voice. She rubbed her hands over his arms, and tried to kiss Jace. Clary wanted to be sick, watching him with her. He pulled away, almost too slow, and pushed her off.

"Kaelie. I told you I don't like you like that. Besides, this my girlfriend, Clary." Jace stood next to Clary.

"Hi." Clary smiled. Who did this bitch think she was?

"What the hell? You told me you wouldn't leave me!" She looked at Clary with disgust. "And for someone as pathetic as her."

"I swear Kaelie I will-" Jace's voice turned very scary, and Clary could see the fire in his eyes. She gently put her hand on his arm to show him she was ok. Immediately he relaxed at her touch, and took a breath. Calmly, he said, "If you ever talk about Clary like that again, I'll make sure you regret it. You were never special to me, and you always knew that. Stay away from us, or I swear you will be put in jail so fast you won't have any time to call any of the boys you hook up with to say goodbye." Jace took Clary's hand and pulled her away from Kaelie.

When the got to Clary's room, her suitcases were there. Her room was beautiful, painted light green with white curtains and a pretty view of the country. The furniture was beautiful wood and the bed was white with pink designs.

"Do you like it? I helped them pick out some decor." Jace said nervously.

"I love it." Clary ran her fingers over the soft bed cover, and sat down. Jace sat down on the bench.

"Clary, Kaelie really was never important to me. I don't mean that I used her or anything like that, but I was a different person then. We messed around a little, but the last time I talked to her was a month before I left, and I told her I wasn't interested in her at all, and I was done. She was very mad, because I think she thought she was going to get some deal here." He stopped talking. "Are you ok?" Clary swallowed a lump. She trusted Jace, but it worried her that he didn't pull away fast when she tried to make out with him.

"Am I enough for you? Are you, I don't know, okay with waiting? For sex?" Jace took a deep breath and put his head in his hands.

"Clary, I told you. I want whatever you want, whenever you want it. If thats tomorrow, cool. If it's months away, or years away, cool. I will never pressure you. I'm not going to look somewhere else for it either, if that's what you're really asking." By the look in Clary's eyes, Jace could tell thats exactly what she was asking. "Our connection is so much more than sex. That's why, if you want to with me, our first time will be so special, because we care about each other so much. I'm completely okay with how we are now. Clary, I've never been happier." Clary nodded. She started tear up a little, just because she was so overwhelmed.

"Ugh I'm being so overdramatic today. I'm sorry I'm asking for so much reassurance, I guess I was just nervous we would get here and you would realize how much you didn't need me, and that you'd stop liking me. But I'm okay now. I trust you completely."

"Good." Jace kissed her hand. "I'm going to go put some stuff away, and then I'll be back to tour you around, while showing off my beautiful girlfriend to the rest of my friends and family." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and walked out.

Clary was done in her room, and went out to find Jace. As she walked through the halls, she heard Kaelie talking to someone.

"Yeah, I tried to makeout with him, and he didn't want to. He also brought some girl here who he says is his girlfriend." She laughed. Clary peeked around, and saw her talking on the phone. "I know. I would be surprised if he doesn't leave her soon. She looks little. Yeah, like a child. You should have seen her, when I was all over Jace, she just stood there. I know, if the prince's family is being nice to her now, it's definitely for some reason. I heard she's poor too. She won't be in Idris long. Whatever, if Jace wants to waste his time, he wasn't worth my time at all." Clary tried to quickly wipe the tears off. But more tears happened. She didn't want someone to know, so she ran. Her vision was blurry from the tears, but she ran in the direction of the bathroom in her room. Once she finally reached the bathroom, she opened up the door, and leaned her back against it while she continued to cry.

Jace. It was ironic how the only person that could make her feel better was the one person she couldn't handle seeing.

She didn't want to tell him another reason she was upset. She wanted to be excited about everything. His parents were so nice, her room was so pretty, Idris was amazing, and he cared about her. She felt so bad she kept overreacting about things, but she was overwhelmed. She cried in the bathroom, and wondered if she made the right choice about moving.

 **What did you think of** **that chapter? Does Clary want to move back? Were the king and queen really being nice, or do they have another motive? How will Jace react now that he is responsible as Prince again? I hope you all liked it!**

 **Please review and tell me thoughts! Thanks for reading!**


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